Starters Final Great British Menu

The Great British Menu finals are on.

Fire!

From 24 chefs, we're down to just eight.

I'm a master at this, boys.

In this Olympic year of the London 2012 Games,

our chefs have taken inspiration from sporting legends...

There's my piece of bling. It's what keeps you motivated.

Goodbye, Mr Nice Guy!

You want to absolutely deliver your absolute maximum.

-Arghh!

-Oh, look at that!

..In their bid to create groundbreaking food...

Good God!

..For a dazzling Olympic feast.

Wahey!

Over the last eight weeks, Britain's culinary elite

have been pushed to their absolute limit...

I'm getting dangerously close to aborting this.

Calm, calm, calm down!

..Judged by the greatest veterans.

I need a sick bag.

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

There have been tears...

-Ten out of ten.

-Thank you, Marcus.

I'm kind of upset with myself, really.

..And tantrums...

-Johnnie? Can I just say something?

-No.

..And our panel of judges haven't held back.

-I don't know if I can be bothered.

-Now this guy took a hell of a risk and fell off the edge of the cliff.

It ain't good enough.

Now, the eight culinary titans left standing...

We're going to be watching YOU, sunshine!

..Are about to come to blows.

-Do you want some help, Phil?

-No.

-I don't want you to be able to take any credit while I'm at the Olympics.

-Ohh!

This is going to be the biggest week of my life.

-Didn't drop it.

-I want to win this competition.

I want to get a dish in the final badly.

From award-winning heavyweights of British cuisine...

There'll be great things coming from the Howard corner. Watch this space!

..To rising gastronomic stars...

Every dog has its day and hopefully, this will be mine.

..They're about to face the biggest shock of their lives.

"This week, only some of you

"will be cooking all four courses for the judges."

The fight is on for the starter course

and we've a glittering line-up, all gunning for gold.

First to arrive is newcomer Simon Rogan from the North West,

the South West's Nathan Outlaw

and first-time finalist Daniel Clifford from the Central region.

-Here we are again.

-That's it.

It's going to be a tough week. Looking forward to it.

One-time veteran Alan Murchison is fast on their heels,

representing Scotland.

-Ready?

-I'm ready.

Been here third time now, so hopefully I can get a dish in the Final Banquet this time.

Good morning.

He's followed by Northern Ireland's Chris Fearon and Stephen Terry for Wales,

who've both got dishes through to the Final Banquet before.

It was an exciting year last year.

Hopefully, I can get a bit of a repeat of the same, maybe.

Maybe. Fingers crossed.

Next to arrive is Colin McGurran,

a first-timer from the North East.

Hey!

And last but not least,

it's two-Michelin-starred newcomer Phil Howard.

A little nervous.

Let's go.

Well, good luck everyone.

Yeah. Good luck!

Our formidable judges,

Prue Leith, Oliver Peyton

and Matthew Fort will choose their top three dishes every day.

So, come Thursday, they can create a perfectly balanced Olympic menu.

Here is an opportunity for us to see the Olympian nature of British chefs.

I think this is a cracking competition. I think we are going to see Olympic cooking. We really are.

We've got to pick gold medal winners.

Helping them decide is a veteran of the competition

who knows what an incredible privilege it is

to cook in the Final Banquet.

Today, it's the king of former champions,

with three winning dishes under his belt.

It's Richard Corrigan.

Welcome, Richard. It's a pleasure to have you here.

Oliver, thank you very much.

Today, we've got to choose the top three starters

from which we can then assemble the final menu.

But this year, things have changed a little bit.

We think, that having discussed things among ourselves,

that not ALL of the courses that we tasted

from the regional heats are actually suitable for consideration.

Well, we made recommendations that some dishes need to be changed completely,

some of them need some pretty hard work if they're going to be

brought up to the standard that we are expecting here.

So, unless there have been really substantive changes to them,

we think that they should be eliminated.

That's something new on the Great British Menu.

The truth is that if we've said,

"Look, this dish isn't suitable. It has to be changed completely."

And they refuse to change it,

then we're going to come to the same conclusion.

You know, all we want is excellence.

We said we didn't like them.

-You know, why should they stay?

-Well, exactly.

I mean, we've got to narrow it down, sooner or later.

The judges firmly believe that this change to proceedings

will keep the chefs on their toes

and ensure the food they taste this week will be truly Olympian.

But the chefs have no idea what's coming.

So, the judges have decided to give them a heads-up.

"This week, only some of you

"will be cooking all four courses for the judges.

"The judges advised you which of your dishes need changing

"and which need tweaks.

"Judges want to see dishes that stand a real chance

"of making it through to the Banquet.

"So, we'll be eliminating those which, in their view,

"don't stand up against the rest."

-What do you mean? How many will they eliminate?

-Whatever dishes they think we could...

..They'll just say, "Don't bother doing it."

This is going to cause a little bit of trouble in the camp.

I mean, the question is, how far these actually fulfil the brief.

Simon Rogan's grilled salad I think unquestionably did.

Excellent bit of cooking, that.

Love that dish!

If you weren't feeling a bit quiffy before, you really are now!

Daniel Clifford's veal sweet bread textures and textures of onion.

I, personally, wasn't a huge fan of the sweetbreads.

-I loved that.

-Oh, yes! I loved that.

No, sorry. Over my dead body and my sweetbreads, frankly!

If I don't cook today, it might, you know, ruin the rest of my week.

And we've all come down here, fired up. It's a massive body blow.

There's going to be some tears today.

-What about Alan Murchison's duck and pineapple?

-Oh, I loved that!

-OK.

I believe it's a strong dish. I think it fits the brief,

and I really want to cook that dish today.

Chris Fearon's clay pigeon shoot.

I judged that one.

I think the presentation was very, very good.

-I thought the cooking was a bit... not so good.

-We loved it.

I'm pretty psyched by what's going on at the minute.

I can understand the logic behind it,

you want to just cut to the chase and, you know,

showcase the best available menu if possible.

But at the same time, it's a bit heartbreaking.

Nathan Outlaw, Hog's Pudding potato terrine and mushroom ketchup,

it wasn't the greatest looker we've ever had put in front of us.

But, when you came to eat it, ooh, yes! Please, mother!

It was REALLY hearty, too, wasn't it? Powerful.

Stephen Terry, the opening ceremony pigeon dish.

I thought it was utterly delicious

but it can't be said to be brilliantly innovative.

That was probably one of his weakest dishes there.

If I'm told not to cook my starter today,

I would be very disappointed.

But then, by my own admittance, it's probably my weakest dish.

But I'm happy with it.

Phil Howard's salad of spring vegetables,

I think it's a beautiful piece of cooking,

but I do NOT think that this is the kind of creative cookery

that we're looking for for this particular competition.

Well, it depends if he's changed it or not.

If he hasn't changed it, I think that's the dish that should go.

I've no intention of changing the content of it. I like it. On the other hand,

it wasn't one of my strongest dishes, so I think it's vulnerable.

Now, the last one is Colin McGurran.

I thought it was EXTREMELY theatrical.

There was certainly rather more plate than there was food.

But it's got some great things in it.

If he tweaks it right...

If he's made some changes, then I think he should stay in.

-If he says "no", he's out.

-Out!

If I don't get the opportunity to cook today, I'd be gutted.

I believe in it and I want to cook it.

There is definitely a winner in that lot.

Yeah, absolutely.

However, there is one or two dishes in there

which we think needs substantive changes.

They've had feedback from us, you know. Will they have listened?

If they haven't, they're out.

We are agreed.

Then I think we should get in the chefs to give them the news.

Good morning, chefs, and welcome to the judge's chamber.

You've heard the news.

Not all of you may have the chance

of actually cooking your dishes today.

We've gone through the starters.

We've discussed, among ourselves.

We've taken into consideration the delivery of them in the regional heat,

and we've also seen how they sort of stack up against one another.

So, let's get straight to the point.

There are two, possibly three, chefs

who are in danger of NOT cooking today.

The chefs at risk are...

..Phil...

..Stephen...

and Colin.

Now, you were each given a chance to change your dish,

or make tweaks to it.

Have any of you actually changed a dish completely?

Nope.

At all?

I'm quite happy with the dish.

Phil, what about you?

Yeah, I made some tweaks and I think it is...

Yeah. I think it's a great dish.

Well, we DID suggest

that you actually change this dish completely.

It was not suitable for this occasion, in our view.

Colin, we thought your dish had possibilities.

Have you actually changed it in any way?

Yeah, I listened to the comments that you'd suggested, worked on them,

I spent a lot of time on improving and tasting,

making sure it delivered on flavour, which I think it does.

Well, Phil and Stephen,

I'm afraid you will not be cooking your starters today.

Colin, we're going to give you a second chance,

but there has to be a marked improvement.

Chefs, the rest of you are safe for today.

Very good luck to you.

So, get cooking. Thanks very much.

I feel very frustrated, I have to say.

You're here, you're ready to compete,

you're ready to cook, and that's what you want to do.

Yeah, I feel robbed of a gold medal.

You know, it's a bit of a knock,

but you're going to have to hit me a lot harder than that to put me down.

Massive shock, you know. We just lost two of the biggest names

involved in the competition for the starter.

Today's six remaining chefs will cook in three groups of two.

First out of the blocks are two-Michelin-starred Daniel Clifford

from the Central region

and Michelin-starred Scotsman Alan Murchison,

with five award-winning restaurants to his credit.

Good luck, chef.

-And to you, Daniel.

-Let's go.

Both of them are still reeling from today's surprise elimination.

I'm shocked. I'm slightly upset.

I was really looking forward to cooking with Phil today

but, you know, the show must go on. Let's crack on and get it done.

Sending somebody like Phil Howard out at this stage is...

It's a brave move.

Stephen Terry and Phil Howard are the two most experienced chefs

in this competition by some margin, you know.

It's showing us all nobody's safe

and complacency cannot creep in at all.

-Chaps.

-Hi, boys.

How's it going? Hi, Phil.

Life from the spectator stands! How are you?

It's a bitter pill to swallow, you know.

It's just thrown it all into chaos, really, from my point of view.

-We're not happy, are we?

-No. No, we're not happy.

It could come to us all, though. Do you know what I mean?

It's going to happen to most people on one day,

so, get it out the way your first day.

I'm sure we can, you know, taste a lot of food,

give some feedback.

See, actually, whether you guys churn something out better.

We're going to be watching YOU, sunshine!

There's more pressure from you guys than there'll be from the judges!

First-time finalist Daniel Clifford is first to cook

and looking to set the bar with his love-it-or-hate-it veal sweetbreads

with veal tartare and radical burnt onion powder.

I liked this dish. I thought it was very accomplished,

very skilful dish.

But it just didn't have that extra wow factor for me.

You know, I absolutely loved it.

Well, I love sweetbreads anyway.

I just thought it was sophisticated, original,

and I thought they were perfectly cooked.

I feel that, actually, having offal at all on the menu,

let alone in the first course, is actually quite a bold statement.

But I would urge caution.

Would it be a dish you would serve to an Olympic banquet?

It is a risk.

If I can give sweetbreads to 100 people and they all enjoy it,

you know, I've won a gold!

Where does the inspiration come from your dish?

I wanted to do something that's a bit daring, something that's a bit different.

It's just based on asparagus, onion and sweetbreads.

Classic combo(!)

Hello, chefies!

Hello, boys. How are we?

Probably marginally better than you.

Come on, then. Let's see what you've got. What are you cooking?

I've made an onion juice,

which is just basically

baked onions en papillote.

That's just pressed onion juice, straight out the onion.

And then, obviously,

I've made a burnt onion powder that goes with the asparagus.

That's amazing.

-Yeah, it's lovely, isn't it?

-I like that a LOT.

Sweetbreads for a banquet. Brave man.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, anyway.

But sweetbreads require careful cooking,

and Alan's not convinced they're Banquet-friendly.

I think it's an impressive dish.

Would I want to do it for 100? Not a chance. Hot? Nah.

Sweetbreads aren't the only risky ingredient to catch Alan's eye.

Where's your tartare, Chef?

I haven't seasoned it yet.

-You serving it on the cinnamon?

-Yeah.

-Not seen that before. Not overpowering?

-Nope.

Nice plates!

Four for a fiver!

-I'm not listening to your

-BLEEP.

-Just trying to stay focused.

I haven't come down here to come second this year.

You know, I've come to come all the way.

This is going to be the biggest week of my life and, to be honest,

it means everything to all my family just as much as me.

Daniel's counting on his radical burnt onion powder,

raw veal tartare and caramelised veal sweetbreads to seal the deal.

But will the judges think offal and onions

groundbreaking enough to open the Olympic feast?

All right, boys. I'm the customer, OK?

-And please be really careful with it.

-Beautiful food.

-Good luck.

Dish done!

-Interesting.

-It's wicked, isn't it?

It looked really, really cool, didn't it?

I think it went really well.

Exactly how I wanted it to go, you know.

Obviously, being the first cooking today,

after what we found out, I mean, I'm still in a little bit of a shock.

But I'm happy with the dish and, you know, all to play for.

This looks like a Picasso abstract.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

And what's more, you'll be pleased to hear,

there's far more sweetbread than there was last time.

The star performer of this dish, for me, is the tartare.

And that was amazing. When you ate it off the cinnamon,

you got the flavour of both and it was delicious.

The spice really doesn't come across.

Although there's a wonderful little cinnamon part here,

I just feel like it needs more.

I love the spice,

but I particularly love the burnt onion bit around the asparagus.

I thought that worked absolutely beautifully, and that, to me,

lifts that dish into that... extra league.

Delicious.

You know what? It's not quite as delicious as last time.

I love the cinnamon. I love the onion.

But for me, the sweetbreads,

possibly because they're so much bigger,

are just a little undercooked.

This one is undercooked as well.

Would have liked a little bit less of the sweetbread

and a bit more veal tartare, to be fair.

I mean, where is the cinnamon in the dish?

Is it round the sweetbread?

The cinnamon doesn't come through.

I don't think it's anything more than pleasant.

It being sweetbread's irrespective of you want to

change the world with having sweetbreads as a starter.

I don't think that's enough innovation for me in any way, shape or form.

I don't find that any more innovative

than what my dish was going to be.

No. I mean, it's...

There's absolutely nothing groundbreaking about it.

But we know that behind the scenes,

there's clever cooking techniques going on.

That onion juice was absolutely magical.

It is a dish of understated originality and beauty.

I think understated is what it is.

But I don't think it's world-class.

I don't think it's fit for an Olympic feast

and also, I think, you know,

I'm expecting a lot more passion.

This is a very well-behaved dish.

I expected my palate to be bouncing around here going, "Wow! Oh! Ah! Ah!"

All of those wonderful words that come with good food. It just doesn't.

Doesn't quite work because it's not...

It's difficult to eat and there's not enough tartare.

If I was one of the judges, I'd be saying...

For an Olympic banquet, it's a tricky one.

This dish gave the meal veal appeal for me.

I loved this dish the first time we had it.

This time, he didn't quite get there.

I really don't think Daniel cooked that dish properly,

and it's snooze, you lose for me.

That dish was a very good dish. It could have been a great dish.

It's a good start.

So, can Scotland's award-winning Alan Murchison

raise the bar even higher?

He's up next with his Battenberg-style duck terrine

with foie gras and pineapple,

a technical dish he's practised and practised

like the world-class Olympians he's desperate to cook for.

I want to win this competition and get a dish in the Final Banquet.

I think my starter has the potential to go all the way.

There's a bit of magic in this dish, and that magic is when you look at it, you think,

"Wow! This chef has gone to a GREAT deal of bother

"to bring this food to this plate."

I thought it was exquisite. It was original.

It looked fantastic and it tasted amazing.

Somehow, the use of the pineapple

I thought was a really original touch and worked beautifully.

Especially fruit and duck is delicious.

You think, cherries and duck, you think apples. Ah! Delicious!

It's GOT to be one of the three finalists

if he does it like he did it before.

You think this is your strongest dish?

I think it's one of my strongest dishes.

I've thought about the Final Banquet as well.

I'm thinking, "OK.

"Is this scalable for 100?"

You know, I could sit there for an hour.

Ain't going to go anywhere.

Well, you should have dressed it an hour ago, then, Chef!

Alan, you know, he's been in finals week.

He's never got to the Banquet. It's my job to make sure he doesn't.

Have you trained hard for this, Chef?

I've worked hard on this this year.

Having been in the final before and got,

quite frankly, a good old kicking. So, I'm leaving nothing to chance.

I'm weighing and checking everything. I've brought my own sets of two scales

because it is going to come down to fine details.

You know, the difference between success and failure

and cooking in the Olympics

is a very thin line.

So for me, hopefully, this will give me the edge.

He's very measured, Alan. Everything is precise.

I don't feel he's going to be getting the jitters

as he's plating up.

He's probably the best craftsman out of all of us,

I'd say, for sheer technique because of his training.

Alan's serving his duck terrine with textures of pineapple,

an unusual pairing that might not appeal to everyone.

-Is this how you did it for the regionals, Chef?

-It was indeed.

I think Jeremy was a bit challenged by the pineapple.

I really liked the pineapple on that and the judges liked it.

So, that's what's important, really.

They liked his intricate presentation, too,

and his Olympic-themed brioche rings.

-Phil, brioche, please!

-It's like being back at work, Chef!

Will his meticulous attention to detail result in a top three finish?

-You're very precise, even the way you put it on the tray, Chef.

-I am.

-Well done.

-Cheers.

-That is amazing, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's really smart.

Really happy with it.

I think that this is exactly how I wanted it to be.

It shows great technique, it shows great flair.

And I would like to think that that dish is a contender.

I'll be surprised if it's not.

-I mean, that's a looker, right?

-That's a stunner.

That pineapple is working SO beautifully with the duck.

It's just making it sing for me.

It is absolutely subtle,

beautiful cooking because...

..nothing is over-seasoned,

the flavours are powerful,

but they don't cramp each other,

and goes beautifully together.

He makes a mean brioche, too.

It eats beautifully.

The confit and the foie gras is just supreme, isn't it?

That was good, yeah.

You know, it's a big, punchy starter, isn't it?

It eats really, really well, but is it really, really radical?

Is this actually a dramatic piece of cooking that, you know...

that is fit to go in front of the Olympic diners? I'm not quite sure.

Do you think a bit conventional, Matthew, is what you're saying?

-Yes.

-Missing the spark of genius and inspiration?

-Does this surprise you, this dish?

-No, it doesn't.

-Is it groundbreaking?

-It's nothing I haven't seen before but, you know,

it's a very great... It's a very clever marriage of flavours

and the craftsmanship involved is just second to none.

Come on, what is wrong with you people?!

This is a chef at the top of his game!

The balance, the consideration, the technical prowess, the visual impact.

If this is an Olympic feast, anybody who sees this

coming in front of them would go, "That looks beautiful."

It just grows on you.

I think it is an absolutely perfect dish.

It's good, but is it great?

I'm not too sure about that.

He's got all the elements.

Absolutely beautiful, but that's as far as he can go.

-I think all around it's a cracking dish, though.

-It's great.

He's a superlative craftsman and he's nailed it.

I love this dish because it shows off Alan's cooking skills

to its best. A couple little tweaks.

It could've been a ten, but it's an eight.

I like my duck.

And with pineapple, it gets a seven.

This was a near perfect dish.

Pretty, witty, delicious.

It's a nine.

I loved his duck terrine a lot but it lacked

the last ounce of creativity and originality

that I think this competition really needs, so it's a seven from me.

Two down, four to go.

And the chefs that have cooked already are breathing a sigh of relief.

-Today's been a massive shock, so...

-Yeah.

I just can't believe

that two of the most experienced chefs, not only in this competition

but in the industry, weren't allowed to cook today

because their dishes weren't deemed strong enough,

so, yeah, I know what you mean,

but I think the pressure's on the other guys now.

-That's it, it's pressure now, isn't it?

-It's good.

It's how they cope with it that's going to define

-who wins this competition.

-Yeah.

-I want to watch them squirm.

-Yeah.

Chris Fearon's up next, cooking for Northern Ireland

with newcomer, Colin McGurran, from the north-east.

-Neither of them have Michelin stars.

-Good luck, Colin.

-Good luck to you.

-Have you got much to do to start off with?

-Yeah, yeah. Busy, busy.

Chris won the starter course last year

and is hoping for a repeat performance

with his Olympic-themed clay pigeon shoot,

a tagine with lots of playful props, typical of his style of cooking.

Being involved with Great British menu last year, getting to the People's Banquet,

it changed my life.

It really put me out there, put it on the map,

gave me a lot of confidence.

I'm pretty grand. Good, yeah.

Chris knows this year's brief is a whole new ballgame.

There's a lot of big boys in the kitchen at the minute.

You know, a lot of Michelin stars flying about,

a lot of egos and then there's me.

It's amazing to be in the same room as them. Intimidating as well.

It's hard for me to compete in the kitchen with this sort of calibre of chefs.

-Chris made silly schoolboy errors in the heats.

-It looks great.

The presentation, fantastic.

But the pigeon, it was overcooked.

My problem was that I wondered how much

we loved it because it was sitting on a cartridge tray.

I do think there's a sense of theatre we expect from these chefs

because we are...we're looking for some drama, aren't we?

I think there is a winning dish trying to get out in there.

If you separated the dish from the presentation, would it stand up?

Would it get through?

How are you doing, boys?

We've been at a car boot sale.

Props, guys. Wasn't that last year's brief?

That's my style, you know? That's what I do. Worked for me last year.

It worked for me in the regionals, so hopefully it can work for me again.

What are you putting in there, Chris?

I'm doing like a wee ragout, North African sort of spices,

very aromatic,

bit of pigeon breast, bit of offal, bit of liver, bit of heart.

And then like a pastilla with the leg meat.

My version of a pastilla,

it's not really a traditional pastilla, almost like a spring roll.

When you're using props like that,

the food's got to be absolutely spot-on

because you open yourself up to all sorts of ridicule.

Chris is up against some tough competition this week,

including culinary heavyweight Phil Howard.

-How are you doing, Chris?

-Not bad, Phil.

Just...coming up to about ten minutes now.

-Pastilla, there.

-It's effectively a spring roll, really.

I know little about Chris. He's not somebody I've worked with,

I'm not familiar with his food.

-How are you cooking that?

-I'm just going to bake that.

Bake it nice and clean.

Last year's banquet was so completely different,

I would be surprised if he was running around that kitchen

with any kind of assumption that he's ahead of anybody else

because he's surrounded by some seriously good cooks.

-Everything going according to plan?

-Yeah, so far, so good, chef.

-Good.

Having him near you asking questions about a dish,

you're just going to tremble, and just go,

"Phil Howard's asking me questions...about food."

Chris can't afford any lapses in concentration.

He's got a lot of different elements

to bring to his quirky gunshot plates.

He overcooked his pigeon

when he dished it up to Richard in the heats.

Let's do it.

He puts the finishing touches to his clay pigeon tagines,

adds peas and slices of pigeon breast to his aromatic broth,

scatters over some almonds and pea shoots

and delivers it to the pass.

Serve them like that, quickly, please. Thanks.

Fair play.

-It's bonkers!

-It's Chris on a plate, innit?

I'm really happy with what I've done.

Whether or not I'll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with these guys is another thing but I'm happy.

I'm not disappointed in myself, that's the main thing.

But as soon as his dish is out of the door,

Chris realises he's made a fatal mistake.

Come here, stop, can I get the hearts on them?

Hearts, heart, hearts.

-BLEEP

-hearts.

What?

LAUGHTER

Stop, stop, stop.

-"Hearts!"

-"Hearts!"

-That's class, innit?

He's got them in his hand, four hearts in his hand!

LAUGHTER

Go, go, go. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

What a chief!

LAUGHTER

"Don't forget the hearts!"

-Manage to get them on before it went in?

-Yeah, yeah. Just.

Was plating up, making sure everything was there, perfect.

I was taking my time, maybe too long. It's a very small thing.

It's a really nice wee extra bit I put in there.

You know, the heart, the heart of the Olympics,

the heart and spirit, that's where it all comes from.

Will the judges think he's done enough?

It's very striking to start with.

It hasn't lost any of its drama and humour and everything else.

Although it looks really good, it doesn't keep the heat, these things.

It's cold. I'm not blown away.

It doesn't have the same clarity of thought as before. I think it's too sweet, there's too much sauce.

I don't think the pastilla is as good as it was.

Mine's been undercooked.

The elements actually are delicious.

I love the slight crunchiness of the nut, I like the freshness

of the greens, but the sauce seems to be smothering everything.

-It's sort of brought everything down.

-It's a bit murky now. But it's good.

I like the flavours.

I'm not too mad about the pastilla, to be honest.

It was a bit soggy. I don't know how he cooked it.

-Was it meant to be soggy, or was it meant to be crispy?

-The pastilla?

Well, I don't think it was crispy enough.

Groundbreaking, Richard?

In presentation, yes.

As a food item, no.

I agree with that. I think it's just...

what I was expecting Chris to do here was to step up.

You know, the visual appeal's great,

but I think the dish needed him to get more involved in it,

to turn it into a winner.

It is absolutely delicious

but, frankly, if this little dish had come to us in a white bowl,

we'd just shrug and said, "So?"

All the glory is in the presentation.

I think the concept is great.

And I think, you know, he should get Alpha double plus, frankly, for presentation,

but in terms of the sort of high-level

refined, finished, imaginative cooking...

-Hm.

-Hm.

Is there a wow factor in it? I'm not sure.

It doesn't look anywhere near as good like that, does it?

You take away all the props, it is essentially a little stew

with a pastilla on it. It's quite simple.

It's done with shot, you expect fireworks.

I wasn't convinced first time around.

And I'm still not convinced. It's a four.

I sort of hope Chris doesn't shoot the messenger

because it's also a four.

Well, I like this dish.

I didn't like it as much as last time,

but I did like it and it's a six.

If only Chris's technical ability had matched his imagination,

he'd have got more than a six from me.

Not the flying start last year's winner was hoping for.

Will newcomer Colin McGurran pick up the pace?

He nearly wasn't allowed to cook today

and is teetering on the edge of a cliff

with his Quail In The Woods,

a dramatic dish that bombed in the heats.

In the regionals, it didn't go down well.

I only got a 4/10 for that, so I'm hoping that this time round,

you know, by perfecting it, I'll get higher scores

because we need that one to kick off the competition.

I don't think that dish, as it currently stands,

is anywhere near good enough for an Olympic feast.

If you take away the forest floor and the bark, what have you got?

You've got four little elements of quail.

He spoke passionately about the changes he had made.

It's almost a new dish.

If he has not improved this dish immeasurably

since the last outing, I think he'll be barking.

Colin has taken the judges' comments to heart

and created three new elements for his dish,

including crunchy pastry, pungent black garlic

and a bold miso glaze.

He's using groundbreaking modern techniques

that his rival chefs want a closer look at.

-All right?

-Not so bad, thanks.

-What's all this behind you?

-That's...

-I suppose, the nitrogen side of it.

-Nitrogen?

-Liquid nitrogen, yeah.

I'm just going to make a horseradish cream and...

what I'm after is to get the sensation of ice cream.

And all it is, I'm literally just going to...

put liquid nitrogen into here.

That's just a Thermos?

Yes, just holds the batch. What I'm going to do...

..is just drop bits of...

bits of horseradish in there. What happens...

all these kinds of textures.

Put it in your mouth.

I think it's going to be quite nice.

It's delicious.

It's a bit quirky, but at the same time...

It works nice with the horseradish. It's clean and fresh and dry.

This for me isn't a liquid nitrogen dry ice type of environment

because it's...it's a bit obvious, isn't it? And...I don't know.

The judges wanted excellence

and they wanted to see something they hadn't seen before.

It's mad, isn't it? Look at it.

Colin could be a dark horse in this competition.

He's probably the person that everyone knows least about.

Everyone loves the underdog and, you know,

the saying goes that every dog has its day

and, hopefully, this will be mine.

Colin glazes his quail breast in punchy new miso,

dresses his crunchy new pastry with miso glaze, too,

and pops his deep-fried quails eggs in pride of place

before placing it on his spectacular woodland plate.

I'm not sure about that wood and everything else and moss.

I don't know how you eat off a piece of moss.

I can't see Richard Corrigan eating...

eating off a load of moss. I could be wrong.

Take them now, please.

OK, thank you.

-Good lad. Are you happy with that?

-Yeah.

Looked good, man. It looked smart. Really, really smart.

-Looks like he's put a lot of effort in there.

-Yeah.

It means a lot. To say I've got this far is massive.

So it's not just for me.

I'm doing it for area and also for my family as well.

That's why I'm not going to let it slide away from me.

I'm going to fight it right to the end

and not let this opportunity slip me by.

I like it. In a strange, obscene way I like it. I like it.

These little white blobs...

..which are actually delicious horseradish cream.

Horseradish? Delicious!

You know, forget about the bark for a minute.

The plate itself has just got some wonderful flavours going on.

I mean, it's really beautiful.

And...he HAS made some very substantial changes to this.

It is not actually recognisably the same dish.

Interesting flavours, isn't it?

There's horseradish, miso, garlic.

-I think it works.

-It works really well. I like this dish.

The Quail breast is really beautifully cooked.

You know, it's moist, it's got a lot of flavour in there.

Yummy.

Really love the sort of...

you know, the contrast of flavours between the mousse and the garlic

and the egg and the horseradish.

There's a continual little journey on your tongue there

which is just perfect.

I like it. I like it. I think he's got it.

It's interesting, really interesting.

Presentation's a bit wild for me.

It's wonderful presentation.

It's utter deliciousness in its eating.

And it is astonishing cos it is really complicated.

There are lots of different flavours,

some of them very powerful.

And it just goes on and on and on.

It's really complicated and yet it isn't a mess.

Groundbreaking, it is.

Colin's actually pulled it off.

It's a really interesting dish.

It does challenge you cos there's hot, there's cold,

there's crispiness there as well.

It shows intent from Colin, that's for sure.

He's pushing boundaries, and I think, you know, good effort,

and absolutely well done.

It's not just dramatic, it's not just fancy,

it's not just dressed up,

it's actually absolutely fantastically good to eat.

No-one really knows much about Colin.

-He's got a few tricks up his sleeve.

-Bit of a dark horse.

-It's the quiet ones you've to watch out for.

-Yeah.

This dish is what this competition is about.

It was absolutely wonderful.

For that reason, it's a nine.

It had presentation. It had imagination.

And it had gastronomy. And I gave it an eight.

I think this was a case where inspiration and delivery

and execution were all of a piece, and for that reason,

I'm giving it a nine.

Quail In The Woods...I loved it.

Four down, two to go

and all anyone can think about is what's at stake.

What's it like actually getting through to the banquet?

Yeah, it was an overwhelming experience, you know.

-I was very humbled and honoured to be there.

-It is incredible.

It's a phenomenal experience. It'll stay with you for ever.

We're all here to win, let's make no bones about it.

We all want this more than anything.

The chefs have no idea how the judges are feeling.

We've all got completely different cooking techniques.

Completely different ideas of the brief and, at least today,

when we get the verdict,

we'll start to understand who's gone down the right path.

The last chefs to take their marks are north-west newcomer Simon Rogan,

with one Michelin star, and Cornish giant, Nathan Outlaw, with two.

-All right, Simon?

-Hello, Nathan.

Been a long day waiting for everybody?

-It's been a bit of a nightmare waiting, hasn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

Watching all the amazing stuff going out before has made it even worse now.

So...yeah, got to crack on.

New boy Simon Rogan is up first

with a grilled salad with cheese sauce and truffle custard -

a pioneering vegetarian dish he thinks is worthy of Olympians.

I want to show people that you don't have to have meat or fish proteins

on a dish for it to be a great dish.

Simon Rogan's dish I remember as one of the most original

and remarkable I think we ate in the whole of the regionals.

I know, and it didn't look as if it was going to taste so wonderful.

I mean, you don't really expect a salad

to have the punch that thing had.

I think Simon Rogan has been the standout chef for me.

I felt it was completely appropriate

for a banquet of this nature, Olympians.

-Do you know his cooking?

-Yeah.

Simon is coming up with very innovative dishes.

I think also one of the things

I noticed a lot about Simon's cooking is it's inherently healthy.

There's no question.

He's a really superbly talented chef

with a very original view on what cooking can do.

He's grilling vegetables on a barbecue which has been specially installed for indoor use.

A modern twist on an age-old technique

that has his fellow chefs intrigued.

-So, what's in it?

-That and that.

-What's that?

It's getting up to...well, 250, it's working at at the moment.

-It's fairly warm.

-Very interesting cook, some interesting ideas.

And it's his first time in GBM as well.

-So you cook it on this stone, do you?

-Yeah.

-Oh, right.

Just keep moving it so it's not burning.

You get areas which are crisp and areas which are soft

and, you know, it's a play with textures.

Obviously, his pedigree speaks for itself.

I'm sure he's going to produce some very interesting dishes.

But not everyone's convinced by Simon's vegetarian starter.

What do you think a big, robust Irish gentleman

like Mr Corrigan is going to think about a nice salad of vegetables?

That's the question. I don't really know, to be quite honest.

You got a nice, rich truffle custard.

You've a nice Isle of Mull cheese sauce as well,

so there's big flavours in there, big gutsy flavours,

so, hopefully, you know,

a known meat and fish lover will...

will appreciate what I'm doing.

For me, I would always think there is something missing.

You know, that would be my worry about it.

Yeah, smoky, cooked vegetables,

but, you know...I don't know.

I'm really looking forward to eating it.

It's a fairly challenging combination for me.

Did the judges like this course you're doing

when you did the regionals, Simon?

They had real positive things to say about it, no negatives,

so, hopefully, I can nail it today and, you know,

take it that step further.

He plates up his truffle custard, cobnut crisps,

simple chard leaves and rich cheese sauce.

And, under close scrutiny from his rivals, delivers it to the pass.

That way,

cabbage pointing out to two o'clock.

-Pleased?

-Quite hard to get out.

-It's not easy to get out, is it?

-No, it's not.

-Imagine doing it for 100!

Everything about that dish is right.

It's a cracking dish, but, you know,

there's been so many different styles today,

you just can never tell.

It's not as good as I remember.

-I do think he's added more cheese this time.

-Yeah.

Cholesterol feast.

-Very healthy(!)

-Yeah!

There's more cheese than before.

And I think it's lost some of its, sort of,

taste balance it had before.

It still is a remarkable dish, though.

It's very brave cooking, it has to be applauded.

That's really good.

-It's delicious, isn't it?

-That's a great plate.

The dressing's fantastic.

-Beautifully balanced.

-That's a class act. That is a class piece of food.

-I like it. I like it.

-Do you love it?

No. I had a grilled piece of lettuce, or something, which was hot,

it was delicious. It was still raw.

That was gorgeous, but there was very little of it.

Exactly, and there were last time more of those slightly charred,

or dried out leaves.

I think the last time it was 100% precision,

but I think that precision has just left it.

It had something to it before where you tasted it, and you went,

"Oh, that's good."

And I think that it's all got a bit sort of slapdash, in a way.

It had a sort of dancing quality before, whereas,

if this does resemble a dance,

it's more of a clog dance than it is the ballet.

Just doesn't feel like as much love has gone into the dish.

The first time, it fulfilled the brief beyond expectation,

but our disappointment is just crushing,

because we wanted something that was utterly beautiful!

Let's not forget, this is still a crackingly good dish.

It is absolutely delicious,

it's just not as good as it was last time, that's all.

-There's no chinks in the armour to get in there.

-No.

It takes a hell of a lot of confidence and skill to do a dish like that.

Yeah, nearly as good as the salad I didn't get a chance to make.

LAUGHTER

If only we'd been served the dish that we had in the regional heats,

I would have given him 11!

But, by his own high standards he's just slipped a bit,

so, I think it's a seven.

I agree, it was perfect the first time,

a bit too much truffle custard the second time, so it's a seven.

I do like my veg, but I want more of it. For that, it's a six.

I just automatically assumed it was going to be a ten,

but he's slightly dropped the ball today,

but he's still in the running with me, it's a seven.

A good score for Simon.

Will today's last chef, two-Michelin-starred Nathan Outlaw,

from the south-west, top it?

-That's a tough act to follow, that one, chef.

-Really tasty.

-Beautiful, that.

-Don't be cruel.

We haven't given up yet, we haven't given up.

I won't be last every day,

I'll be on that side tomorrow.

Whoever's last is going to get it as well.

The people in the background, it doesn't really faze me.

They can say what they want,

I'm very confident in my style of cooking and what I'm doing.

Yeah, there's nothing they can do to wind me up.

Nathan's looking to sprint to the finish with a modern take

on hogs pudding, which scored eight in the heats.

It's a combination of hogs pudding and the liver and seaweed.

-Yeah.

-So, we've got the mushroom ketchup,

we've then got potato terrine,

that's been baked in the oven,

and then all finished off with a crispy Crowley, soft-boiled.

It's almost a little bit breakfasty, in a way,

but it's all tasty stuff.

It's my job to try and marry them.

You should have been up first, if you were going to do breakfast.

Exactly. Yes, I'd have made breakfast for everyone. Maybe tomorrow?

I think it's something Richard would love, it was like breakfast.

-Oh!

-It was good.

-Pork, breakfast.

It was a cracking good thing to eat.

My problem with the dish was not so much the quality of the dish,

was its visual impact, and I thought it was a little bit too rich,

in terms of the idea.

It sounds like a dish to give to all the opposition in the Olympics,

to do really well, or not!

I am confident about my starter,

it's the sort of dish that you can get it right,

execute really well, and I think it's different,

you wouldn't have seen it anywhere else before.

Hello, mate, what have we got?

Yeah, this is the starter with the mushroom ketchup.

Shallots, garlic, and button mushrooms, just cooked down.

Salt-and-pepper, little bit of cream,

when I blitzed it, I added some lime juice, and that's the acidity to the ketchup, and that's it.

That's the accompaniment to go with the hogs pudding,

-and with the terrine.

-There it is.

-There is the potato terrine.

-Nice.

Simple flavours, but they marry well together.

-Yeah, yeah. Where's the brief come in?

-All finished off with a bit of seaweed, for a bit of difference.

-Bit of seaweed?

-The combination of hogs pudding with seaweed.

-You're not going to see that on every menu.

-No, no.

Not at all, this seaweed is the rogue ingredient, without a doubt.

The addition of the seaweed, he's based in Cornwall,

so it's a nice touch.

Whether it genuinely a logical pairing, only time will tell.

I don't eat enough seaweed to, kind of,

intuitively know whether it's going to work or not.

Busy boys. Busy boys. What have you got there, Nick?

This is my hogs pudding. It's traditionally Cornish.

So, what I've done is just lightened it up a bit,

because it's quite heavy.

In my one, I've got pork, I've got chicken, I've got bacon,

and really, it just lightens it up,

and it's not as heavy as a usual sausage.

I really like the sound of Nathan's dish.

It's a good, hearty plate of food.

I love traditional hogs pudding, so I'll be interested to see his dish.

Nathan's serving his hogs pudding with a slice of potato terrine

and deep-fried quail's eggs, under the watchful eyes of his rivals.

-What's that, Nathan?

-The mushroom ketchup.

He then finishes it off with a generous helping of sauce,

and some crispy, deep-fried seaweed.

OK, if you can serve the egg to your right.

That's it, thank you.

It's gone to plan, it's gone how I wanted it to.

That first course is what I'm about, it's a little bit different,

and it's from my area, and I'm really pleased with how it went.

I think it looks like boring hotel food, that's my opinion.

When it goes down, it's got no visual impact whatsoever.

It's a very uninspired-looking dish.

It's his style. A beautifully layered potato terrine.

Wonderful, crispy egg.

The hogs pudding...

slightly disappointing.

Beautiful.

-Breakfast at the end of the day, boys.

-A little bit of seaweed on it.

That's good.

Delicious, absolutely delicious.

Lots of very rich flavours going on.

I do think the dish is too heavy.

It's a winter dish for the middle of summer.

You don't feel like eating much afterwards.

You feel, "Yeah, I'm happy now."

And that's what happens when you put a potato onto a starter.

Richard, I think that's a very, very fair comment.

It's a bit too substantial, not in the size of it,

but in the nature of it, isn't it?

I love the way that the crispy, crunchy seaweed seasons it,

but it is not that sort of thing which says,

"Roll on the next course." It's, "Can I get down now, please?"

-Very good.

-End of a good day, isn't it?

Hectic.

I don't think this is going to get through.

Nathan is a fabulous chef, there's no question about it.

I don't know how, or where this dish originated from,

but it seems slightly misconceived.

Yeah, I think the idea of having breakfast as a first course

for a banquet of this nature would itself be seen as an innovation,

but not necessarily one which would be welcomed by everybody there.

I think, irrespective of what we think about the cooking,

this dish is just not appropriate

for this competition, as a first course. It's just not.

-A tasty plate of food, that.

-It is, very, very good.

-Interesting to see what the judges think now.

-Yeah.

-Very interesting.

-Who knows?

This dish was just a bit heavy,

and a bit breakfasty, for me,

it's a six.

It was a brave decision, but I'm not sure it was a wise one,

so I'm going to give it a six.

The starter was a little bit on the potato and eggs side,

and in that case, it's a five.

I just felt this dish was far too heavy, it wasn't very summery.

I don't think it's appropriate as an opening dish

for such an important occasion, so it's a five.

Cooking complete,

all the chefs can do now is anxiously await the judges' verdict.

The judges' chamber is always so difficult to predict.

I'm happy with the dish I delivered.

Saying that, I've been happy with dishes in the past,

and got a caning for it.

I'm nervous, sort of anxious.

Big shock today to see the standard of food. It was excellent.

Just seeing everybody else's food gives you a doubt in your mind.

I'm quietly confident, but you never know with the judges,

you just don't.

Today, the judges are choosing their top three dishes.

The winning menu will be decided on Thursday,

once they've tasted all four courses.

A bit nervous. To be in the top three is really important.

I think it gives you a boost for the whole week.

I don't think I'm expecting a top-three finish on this.

Of course, I'd love it, it would be a surprise shocker if I was.

But, you know, I can really see now

that the level of cooking is immense.

And it is up to the scratch of Olympian.

So, you really have to step up your game to win.

Time to find out which three starters are front-runners

for the Olympic feast.

Good evening, chefs.

The first day of the final of the Great British Menu, and if that

wasn't a tough enough ask, you also had a bit of a surprise this morning.

How did that go down?

Very frustrating. It was frustrating not to be given

the opportunity to produce a dish.

You know, that's the way it is.

Yeah, frustrating is the right word. I could share a bit more

about how I feel about it,

but I'll spare you the details.

Well, we have eaten some fabulous dishes,

one of which will go forward

to make the first course at the Olympic feast.

I'm going to announce the names of the chefs in reverse order.

So, in sixth place, it's...

..Chris Fearon.

Chris, you know, we chose your dish

because it was theatrical, it was fun.

I was hoping, personally, that you would take it to another level,

I was expecting a bit more

gastronomy from you and it didn't really happen.

To be honest with you, I had a lot of confidence in the dish,

once I'd seen what everybody was doing,

I was like, "It's not good enough. You know, it's not good enough."

So, in fifth place, it's...

..Nathan Outlaw.

Nathan, your dish was really delicious. Very, very good,

it's just that we didn't think

it was quite suitable as a first course.

It was a bit like breakfast, but it was a great dish.

-Does that surprise you?

-Nothing surprises me in this competition.

LAUGHTER

Nothing surprises me with you guys.

No, that's fair enough, it's your judgement,

and I know it's a good dish.

So, that means that in fourth place, it's...

..Daniel Clifford.

Which means that, in no particular order,

the top three are -

Simon, Colin and Alan.

So, congratulations to you three.

Well done, chief.

-Well done.

-Cheers. Cheers.

-Thank you.

How do you feel about that?

Really good to get the week off to a good start, really.

Hopefully can gain a bit of confidence for the rest of the competition.

-Colin, you did some tweaking to that dish.

-I did. Yeah.

I just wanted to pack a bit more flavour into it.

-I really wanted to give the quail justice, really.

-And Alan?

Practise, that's all I did. Practise, practise, practise.

I was happy with it in the regionals, and I've just tried

to practise it, and get all the flavour combinations just right.

Yeah, it's been a tough day. I think we are all quite happy with that.

And in your case, Daniel,

I think there were technical difficulties

with some of the sweetbreads,

which possibly came about as a result of you having to be first up.

To be honest, my head wasn't really in the right place

when we first started cooking so, it was...

Anyway, I can't make excuses. I'm happy with fourth.

Well, I was very happy to eat fourth, the fourth dish!

Anyway, congratulations to the three of you,

but remember only one of you will be cooking

your course at the final dinner.

-So, there's still all to cook for tomorrow.

-I know it's tough.

I wish you the best, there's some great food there today. Well done.

What a result. I can't stop smiling.

You know, to say that this morning I was this close to not cooking,

I'm surprised.

I'm just overwhelmed, really. I'm chuffed to bits.

Absolutely brilliant. Over the moon with it.

To get through is absolutely fantastic.

But, you know, I'm not counting my chickens, just got to keep going.

Really happy about getting a top-three dish.

I've got to keep focused, because this is only the start, I can't rest on my laurels.

I'm not going to go out without giving it a good go here.

I'm a reigning champion,

you know, I have to, kind of, prove that I do deserve to be here.

I'm going to give it my all for the rest of the week. I have to.

You know, I've got double the amount of energy tomorrow

to go just racing into, and catching the other boys up.

There'll be great things coming

from the Howard corner for the rest of this week.

I'm ready to crack on. It's going to be great, watch this space.

Tomorrow, it's the fish course.

And Phil and Stephen get the chance to redeem themselves.

-Do you want some help, Phil?

-No. I don't want you to be able to take any credit

-while I'm at the Olympics.

-Ooh! Ooh!

One will triumph...

It's got to be a ten.

..the other, crash and burn.

Is there a way it could be rescued?

No, you are not going to salvage this dish.

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