Fish Final Great British Menu

It's the Great British Menu finals

and eight of the country's finest chefs

are on a collision course to win.

-I'm not listening to your

-BLEEP.

-Trying to stay focused.

-Their challenge, to create extraordinary food...

-Bad, isn't it?

..that pushes boundaries like our record-breaking Olympians.

-Yeah!

-You're getting it now.

The prize - the chance to cook at a once-in-a-lifetime Olympic feast.

Yesterday started with a massive surprise.

This week, only some of you will be cooking all four courses

for the judges.

Phil and Stephen, I'm afraid you'll not be cooking your starters today.

-We're not happy, are we?

-No, we're not happy.

For the rest of the chefs, the competition was fierce.

Stop, stop, stop, stop!

Colin McGurran, Simon Rogan

and Alan Murchison stormed their way onto the top of the leaderboard.

-Congratulations to you three.

-Well done, chief.

Today, it's the fish course and the standard is higher than ever.

-Life doesn't get much better than this.

-It's just a masterpiece.

It's got to be a ten.

And there's only one question on everyone's minds.

I'm sure you're anxious to find out who's going to be cooking today.

It's the fish course.

First to arrive are yesterday's top dogs,

Simon Rogan from the Northwest

and Colin McGurran from the Northeast.

-Another day.

-Quite successful day for both of us yesterday.

Hopefully, we get to cook today.

They're followed by yesterday's eliminees,

Stephen Terry from Wales and London's Phil Howard,

-along with Daniel Clifford from the central region.

-Hello.

-Morning.

-You good?

-How are you doing?

-Morning.

Who's going to be disappointed today?

Isn't going to be us, is it, Phil?

Well...

-You should be all right.

-If it is, there's going to be some drama.

Finally, it's Southwest fish restaurateur Nathan Outlaw,

Northern Ireland's Chris Fearon,

and Scotland's frontrunner Alan Murchison.

Talking about fish dishes, Nathan.

You've got to be a strong contender for a fish course, being Mr Fish.

I hope so. It's what I love to do.

It's is whether they let me do it or not, isn't it?

Our panel of judges, Prue Leith, Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton,

will decide which three fish dishes are ground-breaking enough

to be considered for the Olympic feast.

The dishes that we ate during the regional heats, they showed wit,

imagination, creativity and they showed fantastic technique.

In order to be in the top three, they've got to be amazing.

This cooking has to be of an Olympic standard.

Helping them decide is a former champion,

notorious for his high standards

and who cooked his winning dessert for Her Majesty the Queen.

It's two-Michelin-starred super-chef Marcus Wareing.

Hello.

We're going to need your help today because the fish course in the heats

has been so competitive,

the quality of the competition is just absolutely outstanding.

-Really?

-Amazing.

One of the things you don't know, is yesterday, the first day,

some of the chefs didn't actually cook at all.

-Why?

-A couple of the dishes weren't up to the standard we'd expect

for an Olympic banquet.

We advised these guys to change their dishes

because they were just not suitable and they didn't.

-So, only six cooked?

-Yes.

I think as a result of yesterday,

they're all going to be really, really keyed up

to push themselves even harder than they pushed themselves before.

It is our job really, to make sure we get the best dishes.

In a kitchen environment like that, with those chefs,

that is really going to push them to their limits

without a shadow of a doubt.

There are a lot of nerves

with regards to this visit to the judges' chamber.

Yesterday's news of not being allowed to cook my starter was a bit of a blow.

After the shock of yesterday,

we're all going to be even more competitive.

We have to pick who's going to be cooking today.

This is a very, very competitive course.

We did love them.

There were a couple we were a bit concerned about.

Nathan's mackerel.

I remember Nathan's.

-It was a particular delicious dish.

-Stephen's rings.

-Olympic rings.

We did think that what was in the rings

could've been a bit more refined.

With regards to someone not being able to cook the fish course today,

I do feel confident that I'm not going to be one of those.

I won't be happy if it is, that's for sure.

This guy, Colin McGurran,

his mullet dish was a really, really sensational bit of cooking.

-You've got Phil Howard here.

-We excluded him yesterday.

-Really?

-You know he's such a great chef.

-He's a fabulous chef.

He's been at the forefront of cooking in London for years.

He was not happy.

I would be not a lot short of outraged

if I was not allowed to cook today.

That would be the end of me in this competition, you have it on record.

-What did you think of Simon Rogan's lobster?

-Simon's dish was great.

He gets the flavour right.

-Chris Fearon.

-That was the one we didn't like.

When the best thing on the plate is a beef marrow in a fish dish,

you realise he possibly hasn't got the balance right.

We did say, change it completely and maybe he will have.

We'll have two ask him.

I'll be gutted

if they don't give me an opportunity to show what I've done.

Do you remember Alan's?

-It looked like a modern painting.

-I loved that dish.

Daniel Clifford, his red mullet. It was beautifully executed.

For me, it was just a little bit plain, possibly.

I feel really nervous. I don't know why. I think to myself, "God, it could be me today."

This is a very serious bunch of chefs.

It's one of the strongest group of chefs

I've seen in the last eight.

I am really excited about tasting the food today.

-OK, shall we get the chefs in?

-Yep.

-Morning, chefs, how are you feeling?

-Good morning.

-Good, yes.

Don't look at me so anxiously, all right?

I think there's a few nervous boys.

We're very lucky to have the esteemed, legendary Marcus Wareing

here to help us with our deliberations.

I'm sure you're all anxious to find out who's going to be cooking today.

Obviously, what we're looking for is innovation, world-class dishes

that are suitable for the Olympic banquet.

That means today there is only one chef that is in jeopardy.

And that chef...

..is Chris Fearon.

Now, Chris, we felt that your dish, of all of them,

probably promised more than it delivered.

It looked great on the plate but when we came to eat it,

it didn't quite match up to the beauty of the arrangement.

Chris, have you changed the dish in any way?

I've completely changed it to a brand-new dish.

Every single thing on it to a new concept.

It can't be any more different in comparison to the last dish.

Well, happy days because that means

we shall give you an opportunity to be able to cook that dish.

Thanks very much, I appreciate that.

The good news is everybody is cooking today.

-OK, so how are you feeling now?

-I thought it was me today.

I had this horrible vision it was going to be me, so I'm relieved.

Listen, it means there is eight people cooking today instead of six.

It's a far more competitive course than yesterday.

Marcus, have you got any advice for them?

I don't need to give any of these guys advice. They're all great chefs.

-Good luck and we'll see you later.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, Chris.

-Cheers.

-I'm really pleased you're cooking today.

Yeah, I'm glad I've been given the opportunity.

If it bombs, it bombs, but at least I got a chance.

That's it, happy days.

It's a great opportunity that we're all cooking today,

we're all here to cook.

-It's going to be a tough competition, I think.

-Yeah.

The chefs will cook in three groups.

First up are culinary giants,

Phil Howard, Daniel Clifford and Stephen Terry.

Both Phil and Stephen

were not allowed to cook their starter yesterday.

-First time in the kitchen. Looking forward to it?

-Absolutely.

Yes, can't wait. It is nice to be given the opportunity.

It is good to be in the kitchen.

-The truth is, ultimately where we all feel most at home.

-That's it.

It is a fierce group.

Between them, they have over 60 years' experience

and four Michelin stars.

I've been watching Great British Menu for a while

and there's been great chefs. In this one here, for me,

there is some heroes of mine from when I was younger.

It's great to see them cooking. The calibre is fantastic.

The same for me last year.

To be involved with the chefs that were there last year

and this year, it's mind-blowing, mind-blowing.

It is going to be hard for me this week.

I am a wee bit out of my depth. Phil Howard and Simon Rogan

and Nathan Outlaw, Alan Murchison,

these guys are like rock-star legends and then there's me.

First up, it's two-Michelin-starred heavyweight Daniel Clifford.

He's cooking stuffed red mullet with an innovative pork crust

and strong Mediterranean flavours.

He's under pressure to perform,

having failed to get this far in the competition twice before.

I tweaked the dish to the judges comments,

so this hopefully is my year.

Genuine sense of surprise on Daniel's face this morning

when he found out he was cooking.

He thought he was definitely for the chop on this one.

I know, but we liked his dish except for the cheese sauce.

It was a good dish, I don't think it was a great dish.

He needs to step up to the mark.

It's not his first time in the competition and I think the fish was quite pedestrian.

I think Daniel was playing it a bit safe on the first time round.

This is an opportunity to polish that dish and move it up a step or two.

The judges told me in the heats, the Parmesan overpowered it slightly

so I've taken it off, listened to them and fingers crossed.

-Hello, how is it going?

-Good.

Earlier, you said you weren't confident cooking today.

-Why is that?

-I don't know.

To be honest, I didn't sleep well last night.

I think it's the stress of knowing that I could go home.

You had no qualms about your dish, it's just the way you felt.

I am really happy with it. It's what I do.

Daniel's award-winning cooking techniques

have his fellow chefs intrigued.

Basically, it's dried pork skin and all it is, it is to give

that beautiful crispy texture on outside.

You think you're getting oozy fish,

but you get beautiful crisp on the outside.

For me, cooking is all about textures and the flavour

-and I try to recreate that with the dish.

-Beautiful, that.

What's happening today

is Daniel showing how much he wants to win.

He's very nervous, he's tense,

you can see the pressure in his face.

It's an innovative dish.

The pork skin, it sounds truly amazing. I can't wait to try it.

Daniel quickly fries his stuffed mullet and gets it in the oven

while he plates up his pickled lemon with his baby artichokes,

olive puree, green olives, fresh herbs and dried Iberico ham.

I'm looking at yours thinking, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Finally, he gets his stuffed mullet out of the oven

and adds it to the plate.

-There you go.

-Stunning, Daniel, absolutely stunning, mate.

-OK, boys, off you go.

-All it needs is the Parmesan puree.

Smelt great, didn't it?

I want it more than anything.

I've got five kids, I want to go home and tell them, dad has done it.

-Can't see much of a change.

-He's lost the cheese sauce, hasn't he?

I love the lemon. The artichokes are lovely.

I love the crust on that.

I think it marries perfectly with the fish.

-That fish is super.

-I really like that.

Textures, olive puree, the sweetness and sourness of the lemon.

-Brilliant dish for me.

-It's really clever.

-It's a bit boring.

All the ingredients are nice, I just don't think it's amazing.

There's no "wow" factor. It's not cutting-edge.

I expected more theatre on the plate from Daniel.

For me, it needs to get higher and that dish explains

why Daniel was so surprised this morning.

I am really enjoying it.

In terms of maybe revolutionary, introduction of new ideas

and new techniques, it ain't that cutting-edge.

But, as a piece of eating, I think it's absolutely fantastic.

The flavour combinations work brilliantly together.

All right, classical flavours but he's played about

and created something truly special, for me.

It is not, by anyway, ready for an Olympian feast.

You want to come away from the banquet

like you walk from the Olympics and be wowed.

That's a very hard thing to achieve.

You don't walk away from an Olympic event in the final

and think that that was average.

You have to push it to the maximum, push yourself.

You don't gold for nothing.

For me, this dish isn't even on the race.

The judges are going to think it's a fantastic bit of cooking,

very clever, very precise and really well executed.

The only thing you've got to worry about in this competition,

for all of us is, how does it hit that brief?

That's the worry.

I'm looking for more in this competition.

I'm looking for more from Daniel, more from the dish.

I didn't think it was complete,

-I didn't see any sense of passion from it.

-Five.

I thought Daniel Clifford hammered this to very good effect,

so I'm going to give it a seven.

Absolutely delicious, not very exciting. It's a seven.

I thought it was a nice dish, I don't think it's a great dish.

I think it only deserves a five.

An average school for Daniel.

Will two-Michelin-starred legend Phil Howard be able to beat him?

He's cooking mackerel four ways

and needs to impress after not being allowed to cook yesterday.

I felt compromised after yesterday. I've been around a long time,

I've had a reputation for a long time, I've perhaps got more to lose

in terms of my pride taking a bigger slap from the other guys.

If I see Phil Howard, a sense of reverence and awe comes over me.

This man is a great chef

and has been at the top of his profession for 20 years or so.

And for him to be thrown out as we threw him out yesterday,

without even allowing him to cook his dish,

I'm surprised he stayed in the studio.

I thought he might walk.

The reason he's in this competition is because of this dish.

This dish personifies Phil's skill.

I was amazed that Phil is here. It's great that he's here.

He'll be devastated that he didn't cook yesterday

and I think he's going to be really nervous today.

Can he pull it off?

Hey, Phil, I like a fag but this is ridiculous!

-What's all this smoke about?

-That's the mackerel.

-You've got a lot of work going on, chef.

-Always plenty to do.

I've tried to take a simple ingredient and turn it into something

sophisticated and elegant.

I'm sure the other chefs will be intrigued to see

how I get on today, because of the negativity yesterday.

I like to think they will have, in the general sense,

seen me as a threat in the competition

and I've got a chance to put into action what I intended yesterday.

-I'm looking forward to it.

-Phil, what are you doing?

-How are you getting on?

-You're steaming along.

I'm steaming along, I'm doing all right. Mackerel veloute.

-Can I taste?

-Might need a minor bit of adjusting.

Oh, whoa!

-Makes me happy.

-I think that'll make everyone happy with that.

So, this is a dish that you cooked in the regionals? Exactly the same?

No, there's a tiny touch at the end, just a bit of smoke

going under a cloche at the end.

-That looks lovely.

-I think it's a top dish. It ticks all the boxes.

British, a little bit of fun in it.

Here's a verdant, vibrant, utterly delicious,

quite complex but natural-looking plate of food. Yeah, I'm confident in this dish.

Phil, how's it going, man?

-Good?

-What do you mean? How is it going, man? With five minutes to go.

-It's going all right.

-Good.

-Do you want some help, Phil?

No, I don't want you to take any credit while at the Olympics.

Oh, oh, oh!

Phil starts building his complicated plate

with a quenelle of potato salad.

Then adds mackerel tartare wrapped in jelly,

tops his salad with samphire and a grilled mackerel fillet.

He then places an oyster on his mackerel pate muffins,

sprinkles on some chives and puts it on a separate plate

before pumping hickory smoke under a cloche.

-It's lovely, chef.

-Stunning.

-OK, we can go.

Nice.

Really nice.

-Phil, are you happy with that?

-Yes, it's the kind of dish I enjoy.

Probably somewhat unusual situation.

-Phil Howard and a bit of pressure.

-He's got a point to prove.

If anybody has got a point to prove today, it's Phil.

He was hugely disappointed yesterday and frustrated.

I did feel pressure today.

We're all at the top of our game

and we're there because we have a passion for food.

I always get very worried when chefs start messing with perfection.

-There's an addition.

-Oh, yes.

I like the new edition, I think it adds a bit of theatre to it.

But, you know, it still has that restrained, elegant perfection.

The tartare is one of the best tartare's I have ever tasted.

And that mussel is just heaven.

-I'd be astonished if this isn't in the top three.

-This is gastronomy.

This is really what food is all about.

It is rather difficult to describe how beautiful that is.

Everything fits like a glove, doesn't it?

All the elements are exceptional.

There's nothing there that you could fault in any way.

-I think he's done it.

-No chinks in the armour there.

-There's nothing.

There's a lot of modern technique in this.

There's little snow and the jell wrapping.

It is an exercise in different cooking techniques,

not for the simple sake of show and showmanship or anything else,

but just for fantastic eating.

I think having this at an Olympic feast,

people who ate this food would be blown away by it.

I really wish he could hear us because yesterday,

he was devastated because he wasn't allowed to cook his dish

and today, not one of us have had anything but praise for this.

-Amazing.

-Absolutely stunning.

-Good, glad you enjoyed it.

-Yes, well done.

-Quite a joy to be able to be cooking together.

-That's a top three, without a doubt.

I don't know, I think it's a close call.

Guarantee you, that is a top three.

He could have been shattered through the whole of this competition

by what happened yesterday.

-He's come back with true grit.

-That's the mark of a champion.

-No pressure on us cooking next.

-No, no pressure. It's ll right.

-Shall we just stay in here?

-Keep troughing.

We could stay in here all day.

Here was a dish that was perfect in concept, originality, in execution.

It's got to be a ten.

Faultless bit of cooking.

Delicious, pretty, original, perfect. It's a ten.

All I can say is, "Arise, King Phil." It's also a ten.

I think from nowhere yesterday to what was the most amazing dish,

a fabulous dish and a great chef.

I'm giving Phil a nine.

That's rude. You're a guest here. You've got to give it a ten.

Can former champion Stephen Terry match Phil's near-perfect score?

He's cooking fish and shellfish Olympic rings

and is eager to impress after also not being allowed to cook yesterday.

Obviously, I came here to compete

and not being allowed to compete yesterday was very difficult.

So, this morning, I'm very focused on the job in hand

and I'm getting my fish course finished with all the tweaks

I've done to lift the dish to meet the judges' expectations.

Stephen's created a rod for his own back with this dish,

simply because the nature of the rings,

you're visually expecting a strong set of flavours with each ring.

-They weren't strong enough in the last round.

-I think it was a strong concept,

but the refinement of the contents were not up to the mark.

What we wanted him to do was to hang on to the idea

and up his game with every one of those mixtures,

so they should be more surprising.

I remember cooking with Stephen when I was 19 at Le Gavroche

and it's great to see him here. Absolute brilliant chef,

and I'm really excited about it.

-Is this food you'd normally do at work?

-Nowhere near.

The dressing of it is really intense, to be honest with you.

-The sort of dish you can't practise because it's too much work.

-So a lot of pressure, chef?

Ah!

What are you doing here?

Just weighing out this agar for this black jelly.

-Agar is something I use on a regular basis.

-Can I have a taste?

It's just oyster water let down a little bit,

so it's not too salty, coloured with squid ink.

This is going to be the black ring out of the Olympic rings.

Stephen's dish doesn't sound like a Stephen Terry dish.

He's got agar, jellies, he's got colours.

Visually, I think it's going to look amazing.

Flavour-wise, we just need to see.

-Hi, Stephen, how are you doing?

-Good.

-Are you on track?

Yeah, I'm traditionally in the poo, as usual.

You explained it to me yesterday and it was like, "Blimey!"

-There's loads of stuff.

-I've got a bit to do, but I'm on track.

-What stage are you at at the moment?

-We're there now, look.

-Should we get gone, or what?

-Yeah, do one, boys.

-Are we dropping you in it?

-I need to push on. See you later.

-Good luck.

-Cheers.

He's got his five fillings done, but still needs to carve out

his intricate jelly rings -

a fiddly process made worse by Phil and Daniel looking over his shoulder.

-That's a lot of work.

-It is, isn't it?

Steve, is this possible for the banquet?

Yeah, because you'd have all this done.

It's a huge task, but, finally,

he's ready to add his fillings of poached lobster, raw scallops,

raw and smoked mackerel, smoked salmon tartare

and white crab meat with a squirt of mayonnaise.

OK, boys.

Good show.

I've never seen anything quite like it before!

-That's clever, huh?

-Very clever.

I'd love to get a top-three finish, of course.

Having been to a banquet before,

it's a fantastic memory that will stay with you for life.

PRUE: I do think it looks so festive and exciting

-and colourful.

-Mm. It really does.

Mm. It's good.

It's good. But is it wonderful, Prue?

Bonkers amount of work to do for the dish.

Banquet, I don't know about that!

The borage one hasn't got much flavour to it. It's a bit lost.

It's a visual effect, isn't it?

I'm surprised at Stephen. We gave him feedback.

Stephen must've well known there was work to do on the detail

and I don't think he's done that work extensively enough.

-HE LAUGHS

-I'm a little bit surprised, to be honest with you.

I'm also a little bit disappointed.

PRUE: That isn't the best crab mixture I've ever had.

That is certainly not the best salmon tartare I've had.

Pub food, yeah, but Olympic feast food? No.

Certainly not in the top three.

There's parts of it that shine,

but is it a little bit...? Yeah, just concentrate on two or three things.

-Five things, it's just be too much.

-Definitely.

What do you call it? Rings with different flavours.

It does not actually build up to a dish.

It hurts me to say it, this reminds me of an hors d'oeuvre trolley.

-Is there a way it could be rescued?

-No.

You're not going to salvage this dish.

Visually, it's such a good dish, but I don't think,

fundamentally, all the fishes work particularly well together.

-It is simply not good enough.

-This is not pushing food to different levels.

The only thing relevant to the Olympics are the rings.

It's not ground-breaking, food-wise.

There's quite classical flavours.

He's thought of this dish as a connection to the Olympics

rather than pushing boundaries for new techniques.

I hate to say this,

but, it did not have the ring of confidence for me or from me.

It's a four.

PRUE GROANS

I like the idea of this dish.

I love the idea of the rings,

but I don't think Stephen finished the journey on it. It's a six.

I agree. The concept was great,

but the delivery just not good enough.

It was a five.

I felt he was reinventing hors d'oeuvres.

And for that, I'm going to give him a three.

Three down, five to go. and the pressure is mounting

for last year's champion Chris Fearon.

Chris, completely new dish. You've really got to pull it out the bag.

Look at Colin yesterday. He was close to not cooking.

-He put a good case together and now he's in the top three.

-Yeah.

-At the end of the day, chef, the pressure's on you.

-Yeah!

Next up are newcomers Simon Rogan from the Northwest

and the Northeast's Colin McGurran, who both made a big splash

in the top three yesterday.

-Good luck, chief.

-Yeah, good luck, good luck.

-You've got a lot of pressure on.

-It should be off us a little bit,

because of our result yesterday but it's not. We haven't won anything.

No, that's it.

Rising star Simon Rogan is first to cook.

He impressed with ground-breaking cooking techniques yesterday

and has more tricks up his sleeve today with his lobster,

beetroot, apple and unusual cuckooflower.

I'm going to be giving everything again for a top-three place.

I want to get myself into the top three every day, if I can,

so, come Friday, I've got as many chances as possible to go through to the banquet.

Simon Rogan's lobster dish.

Marcus, do you have as happy memories of this dishes we do?

I do. I love that dish and I'm really looking forward to it today.

I think it felt quite fresh, didn't it?

The only thing I had a question mark on was the cuckooflower,

because I'd never had that before.

-Did you like the cuckooflower?

-I loved the cuckooflower. I was cuckoo for the cuckooflower.

Simon, is this one of your strong courses?

-Do you feel this hits the brief?

-I think it hits the brief.

It's about building the layers of flavour with the use of technology,

so, hopefully, they are going to taste the best lobster meat they've ever tasted before.

-What technology are you using?

-I'm using the Gastrovac, which creates a vacuum in a chamber.

It's very good for enhancing something.

Very interested in the Gastrovac he's got there.

I bought one, I haven't used it yet, so I'm interested to see what Simon is doing.

I'm understanding bits of it, but I can't see the whole dish yet.

Colin isn't the only chef keeping a close eye on Simon.

Now, Mr Rogan, I do like a good gadget.

-I've not played with one of these before.

-Have you not?

-Talk me through it.

Well, it's finished now, impeccable timing.

These lobsters have been soaking in lobster stock for an hour now.

Just at room temperature. So I've put a vacuum into the chamber,

so the lobster's actually puffed up, so all the pores have opened.

Let the air back in. So it sucks up everything around it.

Like a sponge effect.

So it's concentrating the flavour

-and almost pushing flavour into the lobster?

-Exactly.

I've heard of Simon's gadget before but I've never used one myself.

So I'll be intrigued to see how that work and effort increases the flavour.

Is it pushing enough boundaries? He's concentrating on one key ingredient.

Has he got enough challenges going on? I don't know.

Simon starts plating up with a dash of that controversial cuckooflower paste.

Then fries his vacuum-cooked lobster in lobster butter

and adds it to the plate, followed by sweet-apple gel,

pickled beetroot, and unusual sea herbs -

foraged ingredients he's fast becoming renowned for.

-It looks amazing Simon. It looks amazing.

-Thank you.

So point the lobster at 25 past.

Oooh!

That's a pretty looking plate. CHEF TUTS

A dish like that, it needs to be perfect,

so it could always be better, but it's the best one I've done here.

-So I've got to be happy with that.

-Good.

-Mm. Very nice, clean smells.

-It smells beautiful.

It makes your mouth water.

That golden beetroot sits there so beautifully.

I think you've seen off the cuckooflower, Prue.

If I've seen of the cuckoo flower it's a good thing.

MARCUS: He's still used it in the puree. what's missing

is the flower he put on, which is the raw bitterness of the actual flower itself.

Which sort of worked terribly well for me.

He's done what we asked him to do, leave it off. Good for him.

But, God, this is beautiful, isn't it?

Really is beautiful. It's the way all the other ingredients

bring out the flavour of the lobster.

And the lobster is perfectly cooked.

It's pretty hard to criticise.

That lobster is clean, but it's also buttery and rich at the same time.

-The depth of flavour is superb.

-That's very tasty, isn't it? Really tasty.

-That's a good dish.

Life doesn't get much better than this.

This cooking, for me, is just absolutely beautiful.

Oliver, I hate to disagree with you. It does get better than this.

I think the taking away of the cuckooflower has had

a marginal... It's marginally altered the balance of the dish.

What was perfect before has become just a slight flaw in it,

dare I suggest?

You're nit-picking, Matthew. You're nit-picking.

But I think, in terms of style and technique,

this is an exemplar of what modern, innovative cooking can achieve.

I think you're right. This is what we're looking for.

Individual creativity, craft, innovation.

It's just a masterpiece. It's an absolute masterpiece.

From a ground-breaking point of view, you'd never see it anywhere else.

He's done really well there.

It's going to be a very interesting day.

Simon Rogan has played an absolute blinder on this one.

Nine from me.

Fantastically cooked, pretty as a picture,

gets a nine.

Just absolutely beautiful, beautiful cooking.

Nine.

Coming back to taste it second time was just as good as the first time,

for me, it's a nine.

An incredible score.

Will fellow first-timer Colin be able to match it?

He's cooking mullet on an innovative shellfish beach

with purple-potato salad and a trail-blazing dashi jelly

and he's riding high on yesterday's results.

Feel great, today.

Yesterday's win, I suppose, gives me an extra bit of confidence.

This is my strongest course. This is the one I'm passionate about.

I reckon I've got a fantastic dish that meets the brief.

I'd like this one to be in the top three.

Colin McGurran has come from nowhere.

He got in the top three yesterday, beautiful cooking,

this is just amazing.

I'm with you. I don't really know him. Is this the wild card?

-Potentially, another top three.

-Hang on.

It's whether he can deliver it to the same level of excellence

as he did last time.

I hope he hasn't changed it too much, because I thought it was perfect.

Colin's fellow chefs are anxious to see what he's up to today.

What was the feedback from the judges in the regionals?

Yeah, they really liked it. They said it was fantastic,

ground-breaking and all that lot.

-And world-class!

-So no tweaks, nothing?

-Small tweaks.

I was happy with the judges' comments,

but I felt there was room to improve, so I've used

the shellfish and maltodextrin to create the beach.

And, as the waves come in against the sea,

you normally get this foam. I've used tonic foam to demonstrate that.

That's why I tweaked at the last minute.

-And the tastes and techniques keep on coming.

-That's interesting.

Yeah, it's the sea bed. You can see the sea over the top of it.

What have you put in the dashi jelly?

It's a salad. That's why you can throw loads of components in

and every time you take a mouthful, it's like, "Wow!"

A lot of flavours on there. That's not my cup of tea.

I like to keep things a bit more simple these days.

We'll see what the judges think about that.

You've got this sort of Japanese, beautiful seafood garden

and then a very Mediterranean piece of red mullet.

I'm not sure the two will marry together.

Chef, that looks interesting there. Why are you using the paper?

Just as it starts to char, I like the taste of the charred paper.

You've really pushed boundaries.

This is your chance to do something outside your comfort zone,

outside your boundaries. That's it, really.

-A lot of pressure on you, chef. Top three yesterday.

-Yeah, exactly.

-Looks lovely.

-Thank you. If you can just take care.

Out of all the courses, this is the one that means a lot to me.

This is the one I've got my hopes on.

If I can get this dish on the top three then I am in for a real chance

to get myself to that Olympic banquet.

-PRUE:

-He has certainly used every modern technique you can almost think of.

You've got the foams, he's got the crunchy bits, the gel. Just amazing.

I think it's definitely pushing boundaries.

Without a doubt, it's a dish that's fulfilling the brief.

It's very forward-thinking.

It's beautiful to look at, it's very visually stimulating.

It seems busier than before.

-MATTHEW:

-It seems to be much busier.

-He didn't have a foam last time.

-There's a lot going on here for me.

And it's quite strange.

I'm sitting here with this picture in front of me of what I assumed he cooked before.

That looks delicious. I think he's completely overworked this dish.

It's got very muddled me.

There's a huge amount of different flavours going on on the plate.

I don't know what... I'm confused.

I like the textures in the rock pool-sea thing.

I like the jelly a lot. There's lots of great techniques there.

I'm not sure it all works together for me.

This chef has to listen to us. We liked this dish before.

-What does he do? Go off and change it.

-Why change it, it was perfect?

-Was perfect.

-Oh, should crushing sense of disappointment.

I don't think the fish, the core ingredient, is very well executed.

It is an indifferent piece of fish, indifferently cooked, under-seasoned,

served on a bed of confused, muddled, murky flavours.

The thing I liked about it most was the visual part of it and the thought behind it.

I don't know, like you say, if it works together in harmony.

Too much going on the plate. Didn't really come together. For that, I'm giving him a four.

Oh, Colin, I think he got a bit confused here.

I don't think it was so much of a sea bed as a whirlpool.

I think that's five.

We told him not to touch the dish and he went and overdid it

and so I still loved it, but I'm only giving it a six.

This was a classic case of "more is less".

Too much sea bed, too little mullet for me. It's a six.

The final chefs to cook today are Nathan Outlaw, Alan Murchison

and Chris Fearon, who is taking a big risk with a brand-new dish.

Good luck, boys. Last three of the day.

-I'm expecting great things, I'm sure everybody else is.

-Cheers.

Chin up, chef.

First to cook is two-Michelin-starred Nathan Outlaw,

a fish specialist from the Cornish coast.

He's cooking pan-fried mackerel served on a cured mackerel roll

with a cucumber, horseradish and oyster sauce.

For me, this dish should be the one I want to see at the banquet.

It goes without saying, I've got a seafood restaurant.

It's what I do so it makes sense for me

to be cooking fish at a banquet for Olympians.

I think if Nathan is going to shine, theoretically,

this should be his finest hour.

He's a two-starred chef and from the Cornish coast. You're correct.

This should be one of the biggest highlights of his menu.

I'm expecting fireworks from him on this.

It's quite a safe dish. Very delicious, but not wildly exciting.

I think that's his slight struggle. He's essentially quite conservative,

so the challenge is going to be,

can he liberate himself for this competition?

What we want today is the best out of the fish

and the best out of Nathan Outlaw.

-Did you get any negative feedback last time?

-With this dish, no.

I wanted to make a few little adjustments myself -

to the sauce, adding a little bit more flavour to it.

I wanted to taste it and go, "Wow that's a lot of flavour." That's my aim.

Is that you pushing boundaries, is that the heights the Olympians are looking for?

When they taste it, they'll love it.

The most ground-breaking part about my dish is the sauce. I think it's unique.

I don't think you'd see it anywhere else.

It's an oyster mayonnaise, it's let down with the cucumber, it's very refreshing,

lots of flavour. It's unique.

-How are you getting on, Nathan?

-Yeah, good.

It's quite straightforward, simple, but it'll work on flavour. That's the most important thing.

-So you're going for fresh flavours on this one?

-That's what I think fish is all about.

It's fresh flavours, don't outshine the main product.

Um, and let it speak for itself, really.

It looks fantastic. It's very proper food.

It's very simple, it's very clean, and I'm sure it's going to deliver.

I haven't tasted yet, but I'm looking forward to.

Nathan starts plating up with his cured mackerel roll,

adds his special oyster sauce and a cucumber dressing.

-A little masterclass in fish cookery.

-Yes.

Then tops it off with a fillet of pan-fried mackerel.

-OK, brilliant, thank you.

-Really nice.

-I hope it's good enough.

-That looks lovely.

-Mm.

-That look

-BLEEP

-lovely.

It's very important that I get a place in the top three.

Seafood is what I do. I have a fish restaurant.

Bronze and silver, you don't want that, you want gold.

You want to be number one at the top and you want to be cooking at the banquet.

Oh!

Beautiful, fresh piece of fish. Absolutely perfectly cooked, for me.

-PRUE:

-Oh, that fish is lovely!

As for the roll, I think that is simply divine.

-Do you like it, Marcus?

-If you take the mackerel and turn it over

-and just taste the mackerel on its own with no sauce, I think it's quite dry.

-Do you?

-The fish is dry.

-Yeah.

I don't think mackerel should be cooked all the way through.

I don't think it needs to be. It's so oily,

you want it to be almost melting in your mouth

and I find it quite dry.

I love the oyster emulsion.

-It's got the right amount of acidity.

-Classic flavours, isn't it?

Excellently cooked. But that's not what it's all about.

The brief is about innovation and creativity and Olympian.

This is just essentially a very, very conservative bit of cooking.

Nice cooking, not amazing cooking, but certainly not Olympian.

-It's incredibly safe.

-Safe is for another competition.

As a two-star Michelin chef, personally, I don't think he's put the effort into that dish.

I imagine this is the sort of dish Nathan does all the time

with a nice piece of fish in a cream sauce.

It's not pushing boundaries.

For me it's absolutely perfection on the plate,

but there's no fireworks.

It's not ground-breaking, but it's perfection.

I really loved eating this dish, but, in the end,

it probably lacked the last ounce of originality

and creativity, so I'm going to give it a seven.

Absolutely delicious. Totally not original.

It's a six.

I think of Nathan as Mr Fish, but I think he was too conservative for the competition, so it's a six.

For me, simply, too safe

and for that, he gets a six.

An average score for today's favourite.

Can Scotland's Michelin-starred Alan Murchison do any better?

He's cooking mackerel, too,

and got a top-three place yesterday for his technical starter.

A little bit concerned today,

because I think my dish is a little bit out there. It is risky.

It's classic flavours, but the presentation is scatter-bomb.

So there is a touch of nervousness going into today.

Alan's mackerel and beetroot dish that had a horseradish ice cream

that we thought there was too much of,

although it was delicious, God, it was delicious.

Visually, it was really beautiful.

It was a lovely combination of flavours which he had stretched to the limit.

He's already got through on the first course.

One thing I do know about Alan is he would've put a lot of effort

and a huge amount of thought into this dish. He'll want to be in the top three today.

He'll want to be in the top three every day and he won't be happy until you put him through.

End of story.

Alan's taken the judges' feedback to heart.

There's two little things I changed. The first, I made the ice cream slightly smaller,

because they commented there was too much ice cream.

Also, Oliver said to me

he thought it was like a rock pool feel to it, so I changed the plate.

-What are you up to? It looks a bit scientific.

-It is.

I've looked at the brief, pushed boundaries and I've gone out and learned a few new techniques.

What I've tried to do is something a bit risky and see how we go.

-You need to take risks this time.

-You do need to take risks.

Playing it safe isn't going to help you.

He's ready to prove to his fellow chefs just how much he's nailed the brief.

I've made two types of caviar - apple and beetroot.

I've made a beetroot meringue, a crispy meringue

and a soft meringue.

-Then I've made a horseradish ice cream.

-You've got ice cream. Is it dessert day?

Meringue and ice cream!

-We've got meringue and ice cream on jelly.

-Jelly, as well?

Alan's really thought about his dish.

There's modern techniques. He's confident, knows what he's doing. That's the way he plays the game.

It is a competition. You need a certain arrogance to get you through.

But he's got some tough opposition.

What I've tried to do is concentrate on flavours that classically marriage with mackerel,

so I've got beetroot, apple and horseradish.

I've done some spherification - a beetroot caviar.

What I've tried to do with the meringue is

try and create amazing texture that's going to benefit the fish.

All with a savoury element. Have a go. That's soft meringue.

I've never known anyone be

so in control of so much technique in my life.

I've enjoyed doing this. I've played with this.

-That kind of cooking is fun, when it works.

-Is that the disclaimer?

Hopefully, it will work.

I've never seen anyone so in control. It's actually quite irritating, to be honest!

Thank you!

Alan's extraordinary. He's like a machine. The dish he's doing absolutely nails the brief.

It's modern, it's classical, it's inventive, it's playful,

it's got humour. I think it could be an absolute masterpiece, a cracking dish.

Alan starts plating up his beetroot meringue,

then adds apple, beetroot, beetroot caviar and apple caviar.

You need sunglasses with this!

To finish the dish off, he adds a quenelle of horseradish ice cream

and charred fillets of mackerel,

which have been marinated in a special soy sauce.

INAUDIBLE

Fantastic.

Pretty nice, very, very nice.

Al?

You can see I've put a lot of time and effort in it. I want to win. That's why I'm here.

I've come back to this competition to win.

I've focused on it, I've practised. I've really done my homework

and, for me, I've been ticking all the boxes.

I don't want to break into it.

I know, it's so beautiful.

And I like the blue plates. He's changed the plate, hasn't he?

As if it was water just lapping around that.

I love the char on the mackerel.

It brings out all the flavours and more. It adds another element.

At an Olympic banquet,

people would really enjoy the fact of discovering this dish.

"What's that? Ooh!" There's lot of "ooh" and "ah" to this dish.

-It's a big course.

-It's almost too big. It's huge.

The colours look fabulous. It packs a big punch, that.

-I couldn't eat the whole thing.

-Very big, isn't it?

-It is big.

He has pushed the boundaries. He has been inventive, very creative,

but I think it's a classic case of too much.

I think it's a shame,

because the quality of each piece individually is fabulous.

I absolutely agree. He's risen to the brief brilliantly.

I think he's hit the brief. He's hit the nail on the head. It's ground-breaking to look at.

There's seriously modern techniques.

But, I think it's also gone one step too far.

Yes, it's gone too far. It needs to come back a bit.

-I've eaten enough mackerel for one day!

-LAUGHTER

I think Alan gave this absolutely everything he's got,

huge amount of work going on, I think it's got great potential.

I'm going to give it a seven.

I love the spirit that Alan has brought this competition.

I think he added too many ingredients, but I love this dish,

it's an eight.

Visually so exciting. Psychedelic mackerel. I loved it. It's an eight.

I think Alan did give this his all.

In my view, he gave it just a little too much,

so it's only a seven from me.

A good score for Alan. Will last year's winner Chris Fearon be able to match it?

He almost wasn't allowed to cook his fish course today,

deemed to be his weakest dish by the judges,

so he's putting everything on the line with a new idea.

Chris Fearon's promised to change everything.

Thank goodness he did, because if he hadn't, he would have been chucked out this morning.

I think Chris is very happy to be here,

but I think he is also daunted by this quality of chefs in that kitchen.

The fact is, he doesn't have the experience, the age,

the maturity of half of these guys.

True, but he's there at the end, still in the running,

and, who knows, he could be our wild card.

He's a witty, clever cook and he's got a good sense of humour

and, actually, at the moment, I could do with a smile.

Chris is now cooking scallops with braised pig cheeks

and textures of carrot.

It's a great dish. I want to nail it

and I want to show them they were right to let me have another go.

But going up last against culinary heavyweights is a big ask,

especially for Chris, who hasn't got a Michelin-star background.

Seriously doubting myself after seeing the fish courses.

-You've done all right before.

-That's why the pressure is on.

-I got to the final and got to the banquet last year.

-You got to the banquet?

-Yeah.

I was last of the day yesterday. It's not the nicest thing.

You've seen all the food go past

and you've got to wait and wait till you can show what you can do.

He will be nervous.

Chris is attempting to push the boundaries by serving his carrots in a variety of ways -

the most original being carrot cake.

-Come on, mate, how are you?

-I'm all right.

Let's hear about the carrot cake. I can smell it.

It's in here.

I'm going to cut it into croutons and cook it in clarified butter.

It's another dimension, another texture with the scallop.

You've got scallops and a million types of carrot.

Carrots pickled, the blood orange, I've got puree

and raw, and a pig cheek, as well, which I've got here.

It's make-or-break time with that kind of the dish.

To liaise all those various components in an intelligent

and balanced way is not easy.

It could go wrong, where the whole is significantly less than the sum of the parts.

I do think he's taking a risk, but that's a cool,

you might as well go out to win it or crash and burn.

-How you going, Chris, ready to go?

-I will be, very soon.

-I want to make sure... I need to do this properly.

-Yeah.

Chris has had a difficult day.

He's come into this competition a previous winner

and he's had to go last.

-Just concentrate chef, you'll be fine.

-Oui, chef.

BLEEP

Kitting up last today, which is a hindrance, because you've got to look

at everyone else's food all day and you see how the bar is raised.

You come under a lot of stress. You start doubting yourself

and it was very different today.

At the crucial stage of cooking his scallops,

Chris goes into total meltdown.

-BLEEP.

-Steady head, chef.

With all eyes on him, he starts building his plate

with carrot puree.

BLEEP! BLEEP!

Then adds his scallops, pig's cheeks and croutons of carrot cake,

before dressing the plate with his textures of carrot.

BLEEP!

-You got it?

-Like that?

-Yeah. Go.

It's going to be cold.

-It's nice.

-Big scallops, they'll stay warm.

-Thanks, chef.

-That looks pretty, doesn't it?

-That looks all right, doesn't it?

Difficult end of the day, Chris?

Very difficult, yeah, it was very hard putting up. I don't know.

-I don't know, I don't know if I'm happy with it. It might be cold.

-It won't be cold. Scallops are warm.

-They're nice.

-Yeah. Yeah, OK.

Were the Olympic rings on the plate before?

The one thing he hasn't changed is the plate, which is really pretty, isn't it?

I think it is a more pretty-looking dish than before.

We've got a bit of scallop in there, we've got beetroot,

we've got what looks like nuggets of carrot.

-This is a symphony of carrots.

-It might be pig's cheek, as well.

It's got this slightly spicy glaze and a slightly spicy reduction,

which I think is absolutely delicious.

The cardamom is lovely and clean.

-You're being a miserable

-BLEEP,

-you are.

-That is lovely.

-That's a nice plate of food.

It's a massive improvement on his last outing.

It shows a little bit more care and attention.

-There's some nice ideas going on.

-But, the scallops are slightly overcooked.

I think the cheek is a little bit dry.

I ate a bit of carrot cake with my rather overcooked scallop

-and it's delicious.

-Carrot cake is quite a nice idea.

You're absolutely right with the scallop, it's a little bit average.

The problem here, as well, is there is no real innovation.

There's nothing we can say, "Wow, that's interesting."

But the combination of carrot cake in a savoury dish is new, I like that.

While I think this is a marked improvement, huge improvement,

giant leap forward, it's actually not quite giant enough.

You're clearly not happy with some element on it.

Just seeing what happened today, being last, you get to see and take on board everything

that you cooked. I tasted most of it and I know in my own heart

it's not in the same league.

This dish was a vast improvement on what went before, but it still

didn't quite cut the mustard in this competition, so it's a five.

Delicious little bits and pieces.

Scallops slightly overcooked.

Not quite pulled together.

It's a five.

I don't think it was innovative enough for the competition, so it's a five.

I felt he only got halfway,

so, for me, it is simply five.

Cooking complete, all the chefs can do now

is anxiously await the judges' feedback.

I'm not over-confident I will get anywhere near the middle or the top.

I don't think it was a poor plate of food, but it wasn't as good as the rest of the boys' today.

I have come in today, I've cooked my heart out.

I do feel quite confident.

I wouldn't assume I would feel more confident,

because there are some good cooks, they're all good cooks in that kitchen.

It has just been tough. I felt a lot of pressure all day long.

In my heart of hearts, I don't want to come last.

Only the top three chefs will be in with a chance of getting their dish to the banquet.

I am confident the dish I pulled out was better than in the regionals,

so, from that aspect, I'm confident I should get a top-three place.

Today was a monster of a day.

You've just got to keep your fingers crossed and hope you did enough.

But the food has been fantastic.

-Good evening, chefs.

-ALL: Good evening.

How's it been out there?

Good.

-Tough.

-Chaotic.

Obviously, we've eaten some amazing dishes today

and some of them were, quite frankly, not so amazing.

It's now time to announce the rankings in reverse order. So...

In eighth place today...

..it's...

..Stephen Terry.

Stephen, we really were excited by those rings

and you did do quite a lot of what we asked you to do which was to improve

-the content of the rings, but they weren't quite as exciting as we wanted.

-I know that.

I saw the food being produced around me today. That's fine, I accept that.

In seventh place...

..Chris Fearon.

How do you feel?

Um, yeah, I was happy with the dish today.

It was the best I could do today with what I was up against.

You did some very delicious little things on that plate.

But, they weren't drawn together very well

and the scallops were just overcooked.

Quite badly overcooked. So, you know...

In sixth place...

..it's...

..Colin.

-How do you feel?

-You try your best with the food,

you try and make it is tasty, you try and cook it the best you can,

and you've got to give it your best shot.

You added more to the dish, but I think we all agreed

that, sometimes, more doesn't make it better.

So in fifth place...

..it's...

..Daniel.

Well done, lovely combinations of flavours and textures, but probably,

in the end, was more conservative than I think we were looking for. Do you think that's a fair comment?

Yeah, I do, I thought some dishes today were brilliant.

I respect that.

So, in fourth place...

..it's...

Nathan. That means Phil,

Simon, Alan, congratulations.

One of your dishes will be cooked at the Olympic feast. Well done.

Phil, the mackerel was absolutely stunning.

Every part of that dish was precisely and perfectly cooked.

It was a magical process. A delight from beginning to end.

How do you feel? After yesterday how do feel?

Yeah, I feel obviously, at this stage in the day, I feel much better about it.

I was definitely getting a sense of anger from yesterday!

You're just very lucky that my wife wasn't here!

-Simon, how are you feeling?

-I'm feeling really great.

To get in the top three

for first two courses is exactly where I'd like to be.

Your lobster was beautifully cooked. All the ingredients worked extremely well together.

-It really was a dish that tripped the light fantastic.

-Thank you.

Alan, two out of two?

I'm surprised and relieved. I thought today there was some amazing cooking.

Lovely dish, beautiful colours.

I think you've taken the spirit of the competition to heart.

Big flavours, incredible execution, as well.

Thank you.

Nathan, you must be very disappointed by that.

Yours was a supremely-polished dish, but, in the end,

compared to the top three, it was too conservative,

does that seem fair to you?

Um, I don't agree, but there you go.

-Right.

-I think it's a great dish. You've got to believe in your dish.

Absolutely, you've got to believe in your dish, I agree with that. Well, two down, two to go.

There are two opportunities left to get in the running.

Tomorrow is another day. We look forward to seeing you all then,

to find out who's cooking, or maybe who's not cooking.

-Good evening.

-ALL: Thank you.

It was my aim to get in the top three of every dish.

I knew that was going to be difficult

and quite a tough cookie, but we're halfway there.

It's really gutting, because I do think my dish was one of the strongest in the room

and definitely deserved a top-three place.

I'm really pleased for myself.

It gives me confidence going into the latter half of the week

and it shows that fortune favours the brave.

Really looking forward to tomorrow.

Fantastic to have the big nod of approval from the judges

that the kind of food I'm cooking is right

and I've just got come in and do more of the same.

Tomorrow, it's the main course.

-Agh!

-BLEEP!

The battle continues in the kitchen.

-I could die on my sword here today. PHIL:

-I look forward to it!

-Oh!

-BLEEP!

And it all kicks off in the judging chamber.

Matthew, you have been banging on for hours.

You've just eaten too many meals in your life

and you cannot see a good flavour when it comes your way.

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