South West Starter Great British Menu


South West Starter

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I don't want to go through easily. I'd like to give you a beating first.

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The very best chefs from across the nation are pushing culinary

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boundaries to create jaw-dropping dishes for an inspiring Olympic feast.

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Emotions have run high.

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BEEP.

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I'm upset with myself, really.

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It's not working. BEEP.

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This week, the South West will be put through their paces.

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Reigning champion Paul Ainsworth and old rival Nathan Outlaw

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take on first-timer but competition pro Simon Hulstone.

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-Is there any competition you haven't won?

-I've done a lot.

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Tonight it's the starter,

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and Simon is hoping to make a big first impression.

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-But will his rivals stand in his way?

-Are you OK, Simon?

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-I've just misplaced my cutters.

-Initiation test for the new boy, hey, Nath?

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Britain is braced for the world's greatest sporting event,

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and to honour the occasion,

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our chefs are pushing themselves to Olympian levels.

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Sometimes in a fight you have to take a risk.

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Even just to meet these people, then cook for them, is a huge honour.

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They're legends.

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To help whittle down the finest,

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the chefs will face the scrutiny of a previous winner.

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This week's veteran has two Michelin stars to his name,

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and is the only chef to ever win the banquet main course twice in a row.

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-It's Tom Kerridge.

-I want to see dishes that leave me astounded.

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Olympic feats, things that you stand there and can't believe that

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somebody has actually achieved something that amazing.

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I would love to see that today.

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And with those three chefs in there, I'm sure one of them can do it.

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On Thursday, one of the chefs will be calling it a day,

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and for competition professional Simon, failure is not an option.

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How are you feeling about your first time being in a competition?

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-Nervous?

-Not yet. It's a walk in the park.

-Good. Confident.

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Check on, guys. One cover.

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First up is newcomer Simon Hulstone of Michelin-starred restaurant The Elephant in Torquay.

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-Service, please.

-New to Great British Menu, but a heavyweight in competition

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cooking, Simon's determined to do whatever it takes to win.

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Great British Menu is the only competition that I want to win.

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I've moved on from National Chef of the Year, the Roux Scholarship.

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Competitions are in my blood, and I want to win whichever one I enter.

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-How are you?

-Good.

-New boy on the block.

-Let's do it.

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-OK, talk me through what you've got.

-My dish is called Track and Field.

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So it's a beetroot-based dish with goat's cheese, and I'm just

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doing loads and loads of different elements using the beetroot.

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I'm making a little sponge.

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I've got a beetroot which I've made a little snail with, wrapped in goat's cheese.

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-I've got beetroot ketchup.

-Snail?

-Yes. It's based around the forest.

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-What do you think is going to be your biggest boundary-pushing element?

-The sponge.

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And then a few unusual ingredients like the moss.

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-Moss?

-It's reindeer moss. It's edible moss.

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Experienced in the competitions, aren't you?

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Yeah, and hopefully it'll put me in good stead.

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Simon's starting with a bang,

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a Track and Field inspired creation

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showcasing his cooking techniques

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using beetroot and goat's cheese, a bold move for a first outing.

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Simon has got two very simple ingredients.

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The question is, can he lift those two ingredients to Olympic heights?

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Four scallops.

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Next up is critically acclaimed Nathan Outlaw,

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best known for his two Michelin star fish restaurant in Rock, Cornwall.

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Four John Dory now.

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A returning contender who's failed twice on Great British Menu before.

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This year, he's determined to shine by building on what he knows best.

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I have incorporated seafood in three of my courses.

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It's different. No one's done it before. But that's what I do

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day in, day out, so it's fitting that I do it in the menu I'm cooking for Great British Menu.

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Third time here, third time competing. What are you doing?

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Hogs pudding married with some seaweed, potato terrine and mushroom ketchup.

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So it is essentially a breakfast?

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It's a breakfast, but I'm really trying to showcase the combination of flavour.

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It's got a touch of the West Country in the hogs pudding, sausage and cider.

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And then seaweed, I've got to have something from the seaside.

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Quail eggs. What are you doing with these?

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Soft-boil them, breadcrumb them and deep-fry them.

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Where are we pushing the boundaries?

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Groundbreaking doesn't mean for me the fussiness of it.

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It means perfection, and that's what I'm trying to do.

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Nathan's resting his hopes on a hearty Olympian breakfast -

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hogs pudding with quail's egg, potato terrine,

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and bringing in his key discipline by adding a taste of the sea.

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He's got nowhere to hide with this.

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His dish is so simple that if there is one element that goes wrong,

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then it's all over.

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Service!

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Last up but certainly not least is reigning South West champion

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-Paul Ainsworth.

-Very nice, lads, lovely oysters.

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Based at Number 6 in Cornwall, he surprised everyone last year

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by going all the way to the banquet with his spectacular playful desert.

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He's back and he's determined to carry on his success

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with his theatrical serving style.

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I really want to win it. I've put so much work into it.

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I know what that taste of being at the banquet feels like,

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and it's the best feeling in the world. I want to be there again.

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-So, what have we got here, Paul?

-Breakfast Of Champions.

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Nathan's doing a breakfast. Battle of the breakfasts.

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-So, what are we doing? What are the elements?

-Confit bacon.

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I am going to make a hash brown with rice and wrap it in potato with quail's eggs.

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Rice and potato?

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Yes, and I'm going to do a pain au pudding,

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so like a pain au chocolat, but I'm going to replace the chocolate for black pudding.

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-And I'm going to do my version of baked beans.

-OK.

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-Pushing the boundaries, you feel?

-Definitely.

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It's food that you recognise and love,

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but done as you've never seen before.

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So, guys, this is your one chance to cook at an Olympic banquet.

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How much do you all want it?

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I was lucky enough to get to the banquet last year,

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so it is a great, great feeling.

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I'd love to go all the way again. I want it more than anything.

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Paul's also set his sights on an Olympic breakfast,

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but served with a twist by adding black pudding pain au chocolat

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and a baked bean cappuccino - a light touch,

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but Tom's already concerned things could get heavy.

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Paul has got three forms of carbohydrate.

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He's got rice, potato and beans. Great for an Olympic athlete.

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Whether that's right as a starter for an Olympic banquet, that's a question.

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Timers set, the South West rivals dive straight in.

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Two chefs on breakfast, one on beetroot.

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But it's not Simon's ingredient choice that concerns the other chefs.

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It's his record for coming first.

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Apart from Great British Menu, is there a competition you haven't won?

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No, I've done a lot, quite a lot, all round the place. It's my hobby.

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Sometimes you get a medal out of it.

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Just as long as you don't get one this time.

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As a competition pro,

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Simon is no stranger to psyching out the opposition.

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So, boys, this breakfast thing. Are you ganging up on me?

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Or is there something I should know that we in Devon ain't heard of?

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An Olympic breakfast is one of them things that an athlete needs, isn't it?

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An athlete needs a great start, and they say breakfast is the best start to the day.

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Do you want it at seven o'clock at night at a banquet?

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Yeah, the way I'm doing it.

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If you go to a banquet, is breakfast what you really want?

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Is it a bit too heavy for a starter? I've gone vegetarian. I've gone cold.

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So it's a light start, and if you're doing a banquet,

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you can have it pre-prepared and ready to go.

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Paul's making his bacon banquet worthy by using pork belly

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in a confit of duck fat, which he'll pan fry in spiced maple syrup.

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While Nathan has blended his pork with chicken and cream to make hogs pudding.

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It's a simple local dish and Tom's keen to know what else is going on the plate.

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-What have we got in there, big man?

-The mushrooms are cooking down for the mushroom ketchup.

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I'm going to season it with lemon juice, salt and pepper, a bit of cream.

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The acidity is the ketchup element. It gives you that sweet and sour.

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Mushroom and sausage, you can't go wrong.

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-What's this in here?

-This is potato terrine.

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We've got layers of potato and Cornish Cheddar cheese. This is the hash brown element.

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-So this is just literally, potato and cheese.

-Potato and cheese, yeah.

-That's it? OK.

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Now I've seen the elements together, his mushroom ketchup,

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his potato terrine, it's a bit more complicated than it sounded this morning,

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but it's not unusual, it's not groundbreaking.

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I still worry that the dish has got enough to be pushing boundaries.

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Nathan Outlaw has a proven track record for making the simple taste sublime.

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He's worked hard to put his seafood restaurant on the map,

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which is now in the UK's top five, all built on his purest principles.

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The type of food that really gets me excited is stuff that is very bare and very simple. And fresh.

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I'm not one of these people who's impressed by all the sort of foams and the jelly sort of style.

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For me, it's about the raw ingredients and letting them sing.

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Nathan's plan to build a boundary pushing menu incorporating seafood

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in almost every course started at a local beach, with the catch of the day.

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-What have we got in here?

-We've got a few bass and a rock bream.

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That's quite interesting.

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I don't think I've ever seen one of them, certainly I haven't cooked one before.

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Nathan is the only chef I know who makes it down to the beach, looking for something different.

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Most of the chefs, you never see at all.

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Just like an athlete,

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he hopes training hard on one main event will give him the upper hand.

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It's the third time I've done the competition

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and I've got to get one of them dishes to the Olympic Feast. I just want to win it.

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True to form, Nathan is personalising his breakfast with an ocean kick of deep fried seaweed,

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something Paul hasn't seen in a breakfast before.

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That's quite original, like, with the seaweed.

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Seaweed's close by to us and I wanted to put a bit of me on every plate.

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The truffley, ozoney flavours you get from the seaweed work really well with the hogs pudding.

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It's important not to put things on a plate for just putting them there.

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But what's caught veteran Tom's eye is Paul's unusual take on a breakfast pastry.

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-How are we doing, Paul?

-Very good. This is the pain au pudding.

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I'm just going to cut it into portions and let it proof

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and then I'm going to glaze it and cook it just like a croissant.

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So you're looking for the pastry, all those layers to puff out.

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-Crispy on the outside and soft and moist in the middle?

-Yeah. Exactly.

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Croissant pastry's so light and so fluffy, if you get it wrong, it can be stodgy and soft.

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But if he pulls it off, it should be pretty stunning.

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It's like the ultimate sausage roll.

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Paul's playful presentation and elaborate cooking skills helped secure his place at the last final.

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Table eight, one pig's head, one mussels.

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For this year's challenge, he's taking things even further.

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I'm trying to create a menu that embraces the Olympics,

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embraces the whole theatre to it all. I'm going to be bringing a smile to people's faces.

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Although Paul's cooking style comes with a sense of humour,

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it's something he takes very seriously.

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So he's heading to London with wife Emma

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for some first hand inspiration from the Olympic Stadium.

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Wow!

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-It's huge, isn't it?

-It's huge.

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It's just... It just really gives me a real reality of what it's about.

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-It's amazing.

-Crazy.

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When you're in Padstow, a long way away from London, you don't feel the spirit, of course you don't.

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I've got a much better idea of how I can really embrace

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and bring that Olympic spirit in to my menu.

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Today's been a real confidence boost.

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It's this confidence that Paul is relying on to get him all the way to the banquet.

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I really can see my dishes being at the Olympic Feast, without a doubt.

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Paul's blending borlotti beans to make a froth to use in his quirky take on a cappuccino.

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But he's not the only one playing with his food.

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Simon's baked beetroot sponges in special semi-circle trays

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which he then fills with a goat's cheese centre, before making into a ball.

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However, Tom's spotted something even more unusual, in the form of edible moss.

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It's very neutral,

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once it's been hit with the beetroot powder, salt...

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-That's the flavour.

-Yeah, you'll taste the beetroot.

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You don't actually taste the moss. It's there as a vehicle...

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It's a total vehicle.

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'The moss element for me on Simon's dish, I'm not yet convinced about.'

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I love the texture of it, it looks fantastic,

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but Simon was saying it doesn't taste of anything. For me, food is about tasting.

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Tom may question how it'll taste, but he can't deny Simon's record breaking effort.

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You've built yourself a reputation of being the most prepared chef on Great British Menu ever.

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This is practise from competition, competition, competition.

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Everything's visual. I can see where I am. Bam, bam, bam, bam!

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Simon Hulstone has dedicated his working life to competition cooking.

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When he's not at his award-winning restaurant,

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his aim is to win awards elsewhere.

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About 40 gold medals in total, I've won, over the years. So this is my shrine.

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And like a competing athlete, there's one award Simon covets the most.

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There's one medal I haven't won and that's the Great British Menu one.

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I'm looking forward to making space for it.

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To further his preparation,

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Simon's heading to the local Torquay harbour to talk tactics with his father.

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Hello, Pops.

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Another competition chef, who knows exactly what it takes to win.

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-These are what the previous chefs have done.

-Who are you up against?

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Nathan Outlaw and Paul Ainsworth. So what can I do?

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I think from what I've seen of their styles, one is quirky, one is simple,

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but you've also got perhaps a more futuristic look at your foods.

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And your dishes can stun people.

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Simon's a really dedicated chef.

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If Simon gets that podium place, it would be amazing for me and the family.

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It's this focus and drive that Simon is banking on to get him all the way to the banquet.

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I think cooking at the Olympic Feast would be a pinnacle of my career.

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It's something that I would love to be able to do.

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Three South West chefs are determined to make it through to the final.

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Who goes through to face the judges on Friday will be up to Tom Kerridge and he doesn't miss a trick.

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Paul, there's a lot of running around. Nathan, not running around.

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Very simple, seems to be very under control.

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I think Simon works very much with his own methods and systems

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and if something knocks him out of his stride, maybe that could put him off.

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Tom isn't the only one to spot how well Simon's prepared.

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He's using a Japanese turning slicer to carve golden beetroot into mushroom shapes,

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just one of the extra pieces of kit he's brought into the kitchen.

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Simon, when you're doing the competitions, you bring everything with you, like this?

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-Pretty much.

-It's a big advantage, bringing your own stuff.

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-It's not so much a big advantage, it's just you're comfortable with your own bits and pieces.

-You are!

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But then, Simon is stopped in his tracks when he realises some of his equipment has gone missing.

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-You OK, Simon?

-Yeah, just misplaced my cutters, mate.

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Initiation test for the new boy, eh?

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He's got such a lot of equipment, it's easy to misplace one element

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and when that happens, it panics you and it's not nice. It's a high, high pressured environment.

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Luckily for Simon, Paul is first to plate up.

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But he's still got his work cut out to bring his dish together.

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First, his take on a hash brown, for which timing is key.

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He works quickly with a partially cooked egg, which he's surrounded in cooked risotto rice,

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then wraps in ribbons of potato and deep fries.

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To get past veteran Tom, it'll need to be cooked to perfection.

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To keep that quail egg soft in the middle,

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but crispy on the outside and warm, and this is something Paul Ainsworth will have practised.

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Let's just hope he gets it right on the day.

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Paul finishes his pain au puddings, with dark chocolate and crumbs

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of crackling, which he positions on a board with a mug of baked beans.

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Now, with timing critical, he takes out his hash brown.

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Undercooked will be inedible. Overcooked, the dish will be ruined.

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His biggest hurdle over, he races to the finish line,

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serving his pork cooked in maple syrup with mushrooms

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and a final piping of white bean froth for a cappuccino effect.

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-Is this fit for Olympic gold?

-Absolutely! I think so.

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-Shall we get on and taste it, chef?

-Yep. The most important bit.

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Will Paul's full breakfast with a twist light up the banquet

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or just weigh it down?

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-So the deep fried quail egg? Happy with that?

-Yeah.

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-And the rice, you're happy with the risotto rice around it?

-Yeah. Really happy.

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-The texture, he's tried to get like hash brown, it's just right.

-Yeah, it's a hash brown.

-It's clever.

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-And this is the bacon?

-Yeah.

-Flavour of the pork comes enough?

-Yeah. Big time.

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It's cooked just right, he's got that caramelisation on the edge.

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-This pain au pudding, is that cooked properly for you?

-Yeah.

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Black pudding's cooked through. But again got that moistness so it doesn't dry out in your mouth.

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-That's clever. It's like a sausage roll texture.

-A sweet sausage roll.

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-That's the beans.

-You're happy with the acidity?

-Yeah.

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I wanted these to be a cross between baked beans and ketchup.

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-It's tart, isn't it?

-Mmm.

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-It's very strong.

-I would scrap the baked beans.

0:18:260:18:29

Slightly overpowering to rest of it.

0:18:290:18:32

-Is it light enough to start a banquet?

-Yeah.

0:18:320:18:36

I think it's very small. The whole thing as a whole is light.

0:18:360:18:40

-There's also quite a lot of carbs for a starter.

-It's quite heavy.

0:18:400:18:45

-So do you think this dish is fit for an Olympic banquet?

-Absolutely.

0:18:450:18:49

They know we're trying to push ourselves as hard as what they do.

0:18:490:18:52

They recognise all these flavours,

0:18:520:18:54

but they'll be able to recognise I've done them in a different way.

0:18:540:18:58

I think that's worth a gold medal.

0:18:580:18:59

I put my heart and soul into that. I hope it was enough.

0:19:040:19:07

Nathan's up next. He's planning to take his Cornish breakfast to Olympian levels,

0:19:090:19:13

and is at last feeling the pressure.

0:19:130:19:16

I know with this competition it all comes down to your nerves in the last ten minutes.

0:19:160:19:21

All you can do is prepare yourself as well as you can.

0:19:210:19:24

First, he pan fries slices of his potato and cheese terrine

0:19:240:19:27

with pieces of the poached hogs pudding.

0:19:270:19:30

Then, for perfect consistency, he last minute deep fries quail eggs wrapped in breadcrumbs.

0:19:300:19:36

He plates the other elements with a piping of the mushroom ketchup

0:19:360:19:40

and serves the just fried egg.

0:19:400:19:42

Finishing with a local cider gravy and his personal touch of the deep fried seaweed.

0:19:420:19:48

Will Nathan have broken boundaries with perfect execution of simple ingredients?

0:19:480:19:53

-Happy with it?

-Yeah, it's what I'm about. Simplicity.

0:19:530:19:56

-Pushing boundaries?

-It is in my book.

-Shall we find out if it works?

-Let's do it.

-Let's go.

0:19:560:20:01

Will Nathan's bold move to stay simple pay off,

0:20:030:20:07

or has he sunk his chances of Olympic glory?

0:20:070:20:11

Shall we go with the quail egg? Happy with the crunchy outside?

0:20:110:20:14

I think it came through all right. The fryer could be a bit higher.

0:20:140:20:18

-Nice and crispy, nice and runny. Delicious.

-Perfectly cooked.

0:20:210:20:26

-Are you happy with the way the hogs pudding's come out?

-If I was being completely honest,

0:20:260:20:31

it could have had five minutes less in the oven.

0:20:310:20:35

The hogs pudding's quite dry. It's a lot moussier than I'm used to.

0:20:350:20:40

I quite like that lightness.

0:20:400:20:42

-Cheese come through enough for you?

-The cheese is there for two reasons, to richen it up

0:20:420:20:47

and also to help it stick together.

0:20:470:20:49

-Pleased with the way the seaweed comes through?

-You get that taste of the seaside.

0:20:490:20:54

That's important. That's indigenous to my area, where I'm cooking.

0:20:540:20:58

The seaweed is quite salty and fishy.

0:20:590:21:03

-The seaweed doesn't really gel with it all.

-No.

0:21:030:21:06

-Are you happy with the mushroom ketchup, the balance of the flavours?

-I'm more than happy actually.

0:21:060:21:12

The mushroom's lovely. Works really nice.

0:21:140:21:16

You've got that nice acidity in that sauce.

0:21:160:21:19

So the brief this year is about groundbreaking, pushing boundaries...

0:21:190:21:25

-Does that dish do it for you?

-From my view, it is.

0:21:250:21:28

You don't see hogs pudding and seaweed on many menus in the UK.

0:21:280:21:32

From that point of view, groundbreaking? Yeah, it is.

0:21:320:21:35

Well, I think that went all right. Really happy with what I did.

0:21:370:21:42

Anything less than eight would be a bit of a failure for me.

0:21:420:21:47

It's only competition star Simon left to plate up

0:21:470:21:51

and fortunately for him, his missing equipment has turned up.

0:21:510:21:55

-Looks like you found your cutters.

-Yeah, just about.

-Bit of a fright there.

-I can breathe again.

0:21:550:21:59

But creating a woodland field is no mean feat and time is against him.

0:21:590:22:04

Taking the cutters, he quickly shapes wafer thin slices

0:22:040:22:07

of pickled beetroot and fills with goat's cheese.

0:22:070:22:11

He then serves on a specially made wooden track with his edible moss, seasoned in beetroot powder.

0:22:110:22:16

With the golden beetroot mushrooms and beetroot sponge,

0:22:160:22:20

his woodland is coming to life, but there's still a lot to do.

0:22:200:22:23

He cuts a role of beetroot gel and cheese to form a snail,

0:22:230:22:26

-but in a rush, his nerves take over...

-BLEEP

-..and it's ruined.

0:22:260:22:31

A heavy blow for a seasoned competition chef,

0:22:310:22:34

but prepared as ever, a back-up is at hand.

0:22:340:22:38

He quickly rolls again, adds truffle antennae

0:22:380:22:41

and garnishes with leaves, goat's cheese cream and beetroot powder.

0:22:410:22:45

Will the pioneering cold starter leave Tom feeling lukewarm?

0:22:450:22:51

-A few shaky nerves at the end there, chef?

-Shaky hands all the time.

0:22:510:22:54

Are you going to be top of the podium at the end of the day?

0:22:540:22:58

It would be nice to be, but there's a long way to go.

0:22:580:23:01

-Shall we go and try it?

-Let's do it, chef.

-Come on then.

-Enjoy, boys.

0:23:010:23:04

Will Simon's beetroot-based track and field be an epic start for

0:23:060:23:09

a banquet, or has the competition king fallen at the first hurdle?

0:23:090:23:13

First dish of Great British Menu up for you. Happy?

0:23:130:23:15

Yeah.

0:23:150:23:16

-Pleased with the way it looked?

-Yeah, I think so. Yeah.

0:23:160:23:20

I've never seen anything like that before, have you?

0:23:200:23:24

I don't know about Mr Snail. He's running round the track.

0:23:240:23:26

So this is the sponge that's been made with the gelatine?

0:23:260:23:29

Yeah, it's just aerated beetroot juice.

0:23:290:23:33

Has that come out the way you wanted?

0:23:330:23:35

Perfect for me, yeah.

0:23:350:23:38

Look at that.

0:23:380:23:39

I haven't got a clue how he's done that, honestly.

0:23:390:23:43

-It's like foam, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Like a beetrooty foam.

0:23:430:23:46

-It just disappears in your mouth.

-Yeah.

0:23:460:23:48

For me, the goats cheese just smashes all the flavour of anything that's in there.

0:23:480:23:52

So the moss element of this dish, what does it add to the dish for you?

0:23:520:23:57

It's there more for the shock factor.

0:23:570:23:58

It's really for people to say, "Is that really moss?"

0:23:580:24:02

-The moss, again, it's texture, there's no flavour.

-No.

0:24:030:24:07

It's much more of a concept dish.

0:24:070:24:09

It's got to taste good, if you're going to make it look that good.

0:24:090:24:12

I think the only thing we haven't tried is the snail.

0:24:120:24:15

I feel bad breaking it.

0:24:150:24:17

I'll leave you with the antennas.

0:24:170:24:20

Has this whole dish got enough of focus for you, a focal point?

0:24:210:24:24

I wanted it to be a real travel around and taste different things.

0:24:240:24:29

A good way to start a banquet?

0:24:310:24:32

I think it's a clever way to start a banquet.

0:24:330:24:37

How did it go?

0:24:370:24:38

It was hard, yeah. I've never been sort of really

0:24:380:24:41

criticised like that, but without being criticised.

0:24:410:24:44

It's putting seeds of doubt into my mind.

0:24:440:24:46

One minute, I think I've got a good dish, the next minute, I'm thinking, "Is it?"

0:24:460:24:50

Starters tried and tested,

0:24:500:24:52

their fate is entirely in Tom's hands and his say is final.

0:24:520:24:57

Three different dishes as well, totally different dishes.

0:24:570:24:59

Yeah, completely.

0:24:590:25:00

Even though we did two breakfasty type dishes, they weren't anywhere near.

0:25:000:25:04

Nowhere near, were they?

0:25:040:25:05

OK, shall we put you out of your miseries?

0:25:140:25:18

Paul, your breakfast of champions.

0:25:200:25:24

The dish was full of groundbreaking ideas.

0:25:240:25:26

The pain au pudding was stunning.

0:25:260:25:29

The bacon cooked with the maple, the flavours through that was delicious.

0:25:290:25:33

Lots of great ideas going on there

0:25:330:25:35

but...you got carried away in the moment

0:25:350:25:40

and there was too many great ideas on one plate.

0:25:400:25:44

Overall, I thought the dish was a little heavy to start off a banquet.

0:25:440:25:48

Nathan, your hogs pudding with seaweed and crispy egg,

0:25:510:25:55

potato terrine and mushroom ketchup, the saltiness and the earthiness

0:25:550:26:00

of the seaweed worked really well with the hogs pudding.

0:26:000:26:04

The flavours on the dish I thought were really subtle

0:26:040:26:06

but it was really elegant.

0:26:060:26:08

Needed acidity and you got that through the mushroom ketchup.

0:26:090:26:13

The hogs pudding could have done with five minutes less in the oven.

0:26:130:26:16

The mousse just a little bit grainy

0:26:160:26:19

and visually it was fairly simple looking.

0:26:190:26:21

Overall,

0:26:230:26:24

I thought it was a wonderful dish.

0:26:240:26:27

Simon, your track and field beetroot and goats cheese,

0:26:300:26:37

visually was stunning.

0:26:370:26:39

You really pushed yourself there.

0:26:390:26:41

The sponge was fantastic, set really well.

0:26:410:26:44

Overall, I thought maybe the dish was a little sweet.

0:26:440:26:48

The moss seemed to lack just a little bit of flavour

0:26:480:26:53

and the dish seemed to lack focus.

0:26:530:26:56

It kind of got drawn into technique rather than ingredient.

0:26:560:27:00

Paul, for your breakfast of champions I'm giving you...

0:27:030:27:09

..seven out of ten.

0:27:120:27:14

Nathan, for your hogs pudding with seaweed, crispy egg potato terrine

0:27:160:27:22

and mushroom ketchup, I'm giving you...

0:27:220:27:25

..eight out of ten.

0:27:270:27:28

Simon, for your beetroot and goats cheese track and field,

0:27:300:27:34

I'm giving you...

0:27:340:27:36

..seven out of ten.

0:27:380:27:39

Well done, guys. Let's see some nines and some tens.

0:27:420:27:46

Keep up the good work, South West.

0:27:460:27:48

Well done. Well done.

0:27:480:27:50

So, after the starter Nathan's out in front with eight,

0:27:510:27:54

leaving Paul and Simon in joint second place only one point behind.

0:27:540:27:58

Eight out of ten gives me a head start over the other guys

0:27:580:28:01

but this competition is fierce.

0:28:010:28:03

Tomorrow, we'll have to see what happens.

0:28:030:28:06

I'm playing catch up at the moment, but it's a race, not a sprint,

0:28:060:28:09

and I'll be catching up Nathan soon hopefully.

0:28:090:28:12

At this stage of the competition I'm happy with a seven.

0:28:120:28:14

It is tight in there, the competition is seriously tight.

0:28:140:28:18

Tomorrow it's the fish course.

0:28:180:28:21

Seafood chef Nathan is intent on keeping his crown.

0:28:210:28:24

-How are you feeling now?

-A bit under pressure.

0:28:240:28:26

And competition pro Simon is chasing his tail.

0:28:260:28:29

-This is just scallops and cream.

-Blimey.

0:28:290:28:31

-You ever seen anything like that before?

-Never.

0:28:310:28:34

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