North West Starter Great British Menu

The nation's finest chefs are striving to produce

a breathtaking performance on a plate...

-Stay calm, chief.

-Wow.

..for a special banquet,

celebrating 25 years of Comic Relief,

at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall.

Ooh!

The challenge? To create dazzling food,

that's also witty and fun.

Argh!

-There's been laughter...

-SHE GIGGLES

..and crushing disappointments.

It was by far your worst dish.

BLEEP!

Each chef hoping to raise money,

and a laugh, to support Comic Relief.

LAUGHTER

This week, fighting to represent the North West

is returning three-time loser, Aiden Byrne.

-You're not going to cry this time?

-That's what I do.

THEY LAUGH

Technical wizard Chris Holland.

It's not often you want people to laugh at your food, is it?

And Heston Blumenthal-trained Mary Ellen McTague.

But it is, as always, about cooking isn't it?

-BLEEP!

-Microwave's lethal!

Aiden can't afford to lose for the fourth time.

For me, it's so important to get a high score.

It gives you confidence to ride through the rest of the week.

BLEEP!

And is certain victory is his.

BLEEP!

15 minutes late, Mary Ellen, you know. Thought I'd let you know.

Thanks, Aiden(!)

Until he tastes what he's up against.

It's a love or hate dish. And I love it.

-I love it.

-You know what? She's unnerved me.

This year's challenge is inspired by Comic Relief -

a charity that's transformed the lives of millions of people,

in Africa and the UK, for more than a quarter of a century

and raised over £800 million through the power of entertainment.

The chefs' task is to create witty, playful dishes,

a gastronomic feast that will put a smile on everyone's faces.

They've travelled all over the country

to meet the people who rely on the charity's support.

-I do feel like I've turned a corner.

-That's brilliant.

And together with some of Britain's best-known entertainers...

-We've got some lovely pies here!

-Lovely pies!

..have done the unimaginable...

How did I get roped into this?

..and the unthinkable, to raise some much-needed cash.

It's for a great cause.

I'm really proud, actually, to be doing this.

Judging the chefs this week is last year's Fish Course Champion

and two Michelin-starred legend, Phil Howard.

-Morning.

-Pleased to meet you.

How are you? Good to see you.

-All ready to go?

-Yes.

-Looking forward to it. Nice for me to be on the other side of the fence.

-Absolutely.

-I'll see you in there.

-See you in a bit.

I'm expecting some fireworks, some entertainment, humour, drama,

but, ultimately this is a cooking competition

and flavour, for me, has to shine through.

So there we are. Day one. How you feeling?

I feel a bit nervous, apprehensive, just want to get on

and get in the kitchen.

-How do you feel, coming back?

-There's a lot of pressure.

I've gone into the judges' chamber three times, and been sent home three times

-so fingers crossed it doesn't happen this time.

-Right.

We'll see if we can beat him!

HE LAUGHS

One scallop, one new potatoes, coming on thick and fast...

First up is returning contender Aiden Byrne,

head chef at The Church Green in Cheshire,

where he cooks classical food with a modern twist.

Despite a Michelin-starred background...

Simon Rogan.

..he failed to make it to the final last year,

for the third time, and is back with a point to prove.

Losing out last year, I was absolutely devastated.

If I don't get to the final this time I'm not going to do it again.

But, within, me I feel more confident about doing this year

than I've ever done any year.

-How are you?

-All right.

-Take me through it.

We've got frog's legs, parsley,

there's lots of different types of garlic, black fermented garlic,

actual garlic itself which we're going to make a gel out of.

We're going to make a puree to stuff the frogs' legs.

Loads of garlic?

Make sure that that's at an appropriate level for a banquet.

We're going to make a parsley wafer.

The parsley's there to counterbalance that garlic.

And fitting the brief?

Basically, the title of the dish is Mad As A Box Of Frogs.

It comes in a little box. As you open up the box

there's frogs in the background, there's clowns' laughter

and then the judges have got to put a clown's hat on

at the same time, so that's the fun element of it all.

Determined Aiden is kick-starting his witty, gastronomic menu with

A Box Of Frogs, a twist on a classic with some laugh-out-loud props.

Frogs' leg kievs, they should work but garlic gel? Not quite sure.

I think the box gimmick is highly risky.

It could be so cheesy and naff, it could kill it off altogether.

So it very much depends on exactly how it's presented

and just how good the contents is.

OK, service please.

Next up is rising star Chris Holland, head chef at the Alderley

in Cheshire, where his technical cooking is making waves.

Five mackerel, three pate, yeah?

He may not have any Michelin stars to his name yet, but is determined

to go all the way in this year's competition.

People think I'm quite a relaxed person and a happy-go-lucky guy

but inside, there's a deep, burning desire to succeed.

-Hi Chris.

-Hi.

OK, tell me what's in your box of tricks.

This title is an Oriental Broth With A Twist.

What's the twist?

The brief is to create a fun dish.

The twist is, when it arrives at the table,

it appears to be a chocolate bar,

and when the broth is poured on top, it will disperse

and the aromats will come through.

So I'm using all the usual oriental flavours.

I'm making a sesame powder using Absorbit

got the beef fillets in there.

Potential issue there with temperature.

Temperature's an issue.

The hot bowl's got to be really hot

so to achieve that, I couldn't use normal gelling agents.

The gelling agent here's a product called LT100.

It will disperse at 80 degrees, so I can serve it in a hot bowl

-without it melting.

-OK.

Technical Chris is looking to make a big first impression

with an Oriental-style soup with beef, noodles

and a complex beef stock jelly, in the guise of a chocolate bar.

Chris has got a fun idea but I'm expecting to end up

with a warm bowl of slightly underwhelming liquid

and he's got to prove me wrong.

Two mackerel going across on one, please.

Last but not least is cutting-edge newcomer

Mary Ellen McTague, owner and head chef of the Aumbry, near Manchester.

Service, please!

She trained for four years under legendary

three Michelin-starred Heston Blumenthal,

world-renowned for his innovative cooking.

I think my background's definitely a huge advantage.

And might just give me the edge.

-Hello, Mary, how are you?

-Good, thank you.

So tell me, what have you got in your box?

So, my dish is a Baked Bean Bathtub.

The main element is actually this.

-So it's a potted crab.

-Lovely.

And the main visual element is these - haricot beans -

which I'm going to make my baked beans with

and that's going to be served with a bath sponge

-and a chilled crab bisque rubber duck.

-OK.

With a bit of a wobble. That's the rubber duck.

If ever there's a brief where some genuine humour can come in

in the form of props and presentation, this is it.

-It's got to be a delicious plate of food as well.

-Yeah.

Lots to risk there, but it's going to be a ten out of ten

-or a, "Uh-oh!" Good luck.

-Thank you.

Mary Ellen's been inspired by that charity sponsorship favourite,

sitting in a bathtub full of cold beans

and is recreating this iconic fundraising feat,

with a bath of crab bisque, beans and a rubber duck jelly.

Mary's dish is probably the most high-risk of them all.

I'm not sure whether you can have something served to you in a bathtub

and really not be affected by that, in its eating.

It might just be a step too far.

Guys, I've found it really tough, the brief, this year,

because to come up with a dish that's gastronomically sound

and have a laugh doing it at the same time,

it's almost like a contradiction.

Yeah, it's not often that you want people to laugh at your food.

that's the difficult thing about it.

There needs to be a fun element, but it is about cooking,

-first and foremost?

-Absolutely, yeah.

-The final banquet's at the Royal Albert Hall. How do you feel about that?

-No way!

I watched a show there and I was crying my eyes out

while I watched the show. I got very emotional.

So yeah, it'll be nice to go back there in a different guise, really.

You're not going to cry this time, are you?

I dunno! That's what I do!

LAUGHTER

I'll be disappointed if you don't!

I'm hoping to make you guys cry.

MARY ELLEN LAUGHS

Mr Byrne?

I'm looking forward to a fun take on frogs' legs, parsley and garlic.

Those are three ingredients that have a real natural affinity.

-So you've heard about the banquet.

-Yes.

-Albert Hall.

You don't get a grander, better, more iconic venue

to knock out your frogs' legs.

Just imagine every one of them opening up

them frogs' legs boxes at the same time,

you know, that laughter. I get goosebumps just thinking about that.

-That's going to be make or break, the box element.

-Absolutely.

I don't know what I feel about it till I open that lid.

At the end of the day, I'm cooking frogs' legs,

a gastronomically sound classical dish,

but it's the sense of humour where all the hard work has gone into

and the props and the sense of humour,

and I hope Phil gets that, as much as the cooking.

After losing for the third time last year,

Aiden has completely changed his strategy this time.

My style of cooking is quite serious.

This year, I've had to come out with a totally different approach.

I've never used props. I've never used anything at all

to accentuate my food and this year, I'm really going to town on that.

To get inspiration

he went to meet Tracey Lester at a specialist prop shop in Manchester.

So I've been thinking about your idea

and the concept you want to come up with.

And what do you think about this?

Because you want the element of surprise.

-Is it an old fashioned jack-in-the-box?

-It is.

-Oh, right!

MUSIC-BOX STYLE TUNE PLAYS

THEY LAUGH

What do you think?

-With things like this, the creativity is endless, really.

-It's that whole theatre.

Absolutely, yes. And that's exactly what it is.

I've never done this before and I'm quite nervous about it

but excited at the same time.

As usual, there are even bigger things weighing on Aiden's mind.

There was a little bit of added pressure on last year.

Sarah said she'd marry me if I won and got to the final.

I'm still not married. Maybe fourth time lucky.

Who knows what'll happen this year?

We haven't had that conversation, so, we'll see what happens.

Hopefully it'll be a nice surprise.

Aiden is a fantastic man, a great chef,

and I know he's going to do well this year.

-BLEEP

-off!

But already Aiden's marriage hopes might be jeopardized,

by the microwave he's using to cook his garlic crisps.

-BLEEP

-microwave's lethal.

I can smell some angry garlic.

Yeah, it's a much more powerful microwave than I anticipated.

You're doing more?

I'm going to do a little bit more, yeah.

When you burn something, you've got to do it again.

It heightens the tension. He's put himself under a bit of pressure.

Technical Chris has finished the bottom layer

of his beef stock jelly bar,

the centrepiece of his Oriental-style beef soup with a twist.

Hi Chris, tell me where we're at there.

This is basically the very bottom layer of the bar.

So you've got carrot, noodles, mooli, shiitake mushrooms,

raw beef fillet.

And that's been bound with the LT100?

Yep, it's got a higher temperature for setting

so I can serve it in a hot bowl.

It's a real tricky balance of temperature and time, this one.

Your stock is being served in the kitchen or at the table?

-At the table.

-I'm still intrigued to see whether that hot liquid

is going to stay hot long enough to penetrate through

what is actually quite a significant thing.

I think Chris's idea is actually really clever

and really fun, and it's also underpinned with some proper cooking

but I still think you could end up with a really underwhelming,

slightly lukewarm bowl of broth.

It's got to work and still end up being hot and delicious.

To make sure his chocolate bar didn't melt in a hot bowl,

Chris sought the help of molecular expert Vicky Smith.

-Hey, Chris.

-How are you?

-Hello. Good, thank you.

I think the brief, bringing some humour into the food

gives you the opportunity to play with food a bit

which is what I've done.

I've tried to inject an element of excitement within each dish

so hopefully I'll have achieved that.

After lots of experimenting, Vicky discovered

the prefect gelling agent for Chris's jelly,

strong enough to ensure it holds in a hot bowl

and reactive enough to melt when hot broth is poured over it.

It's a very fast setting gel.

You get an instant set at 80 degrees which means that,

when you pour that boiling liquor over there,

-you should get what you're looking for.

-Perfect.

What would it mean to get a course to the banquet?

It means everything.

There's nothing more satisfying than achieving a goal

so yeah, it means everything.

I'm sure it'll be an emotional occasion if I do.

Daddy's food is scrumptious!

(ALL): Cheers!

Chris is a lovely dad. He's so good with the children.

But he's also very dedicated and very professional.

Don't underestimate him - he's here to win.

Chris has finished the second layer

of his risky beef stock jelly bar,

the main focus for his Oriental-style soup with a twist.

But he's not the only one experimenting with moulded jellies.

Come on then, talk me through it. What have we got going on here?

-These are my rubber duck moulds.

-Oh, OK, OK.

-Those are rubber ducks?

-Yeah.

-OK, and tell me, where's this come from?

Obviously, you've got the brief.

And one of the things that leapt into my mind

was the people sitting in a bath of cold beans.

And then, just because it's tomato, I immediately thought of crab.

I'm using just fresh tomato juice, and thicken it slightly

so it looks like baked beans in a thick sauce

but you taste it and it's just tomato juice.

The other things there?

It should be obvious about what to do. Bit of rubber duck,

bit of bread, bit of potted crab and sort of tuck in.

I don't really understand Mary Ellen's dish.

Raw tomato and crab, of course it works,

but she's got a bean coming in there, which is significant,

and it's going to be hard bits in possibly sour gloop

you know, and it's... It's risky.

Phil seems really interested in the starter.

He's just waiting to see what the execution's like.

If it's done well, it could be great.

he said it'll either be a ten or a zero!

So, erm, hopefully ten, not zero.

Mary Ellen may have given up working in a three Michelin-starred kitchen,

for the chance to run a place of her own,

but she's never lost her passion for experimental cookery.

Hello!

Reflected in her sons, aged four and two.

Both the children like to play "restaurants".

So we're a very food orientated family, definitely.

Because I worked at the Fat Duck, the other chefs are expecting me

to be very modern in my approach

but I'm actually more interested in the historical side of cookery.

When working in Heston Blumenthal's development kitchen,

Mary Ellen met food historian Ivan Day.

Specialising in moulded foods, he was the perfect person to ask

whether she was on the right track with her rubber duck jelly.

The interesting thing is, when you talk about

the "comedic" possibilities,

jelly, for many centuries was the hub of all fun.

And to prove just how funny moulded jellies can be, Ivan has prepared

one of his favourites, that dates back to the 1800s.

That's so cool!

You've got this extraordinary, quite suggestive wobble.

This kind of thing is absolutely perfect.

it's funny, it's silly and it's going to make people laugh.

Always makes me laugh. I don't know why,

but I'm often in tears after looking at a jelly!

With plating up approaching

it's time for Mary Ellen to see if her rubber duck jellies will hold.

Yes. They've worked! It's set in time. I'm so pleased.

It's the thing I've been worried about most.

I'll probably burn something now!

And as it turns out, she's right!

OK.

I've just burnt my baked beans. I'm going to have to do it again.

I'm really worried now. I don't have a lot of time left.

I need to get cracking.

BLEEP!

But time's already up for returning contender Aiden,

who's taking everything in his stride, having been here before.

He's first to plate up his starter.

He puts his frog legs on to fry and starts his plate with garlic jelly.

Then he adds cloves of fermented black garlic.

Next, his deep fried frogs' legs.

Today is the day, really. It's so important to get that high score

because it gives you that confidence to ride through the rest of the week.

-Getting a really low mark today would just be crushing.

-Yeah. Absolutely.

He continues with parsley wafers,

creamed garlic

and finishes the plate off with garlic crisps

before drizzling over some garlic sauce.

Last but not least, he places his starter in his special box.

One for you.

Kind of expected a plate and knife and fork

and I've got a box and a bigger box!

-Are you happy with it?

-Yeah, I am, yeah.

Good, OK, come on, let's do it. Let's go.

-How do I look?

-You look very dashing.

-Pretty you look, too.

-Thank you.

PHIL LAUGHS AT CANNED LAUGHTER FROM BOX

Well, it fits the brief.

-It's made us both laugh.

-Yep.

Are you happy with the overall dish you've produced?

There's a little niggling bit. I'm asking now,

is it big enough for a starter?

-Mmm!

-Nice and tender?

Mmm, very tender.

-Seasoned enough for you?

-No.

Are you happy with the overall balance of flavours?

If I do get through to the judges' chamber, if anything,

I might put a little bit more parsley on there.

The garlic's too much and the parsley's too little.

There isn't enough of that cleansing parsley flavour

-that you really need with garlic.

-Yeah.

What about the texture of the wafer? Crisp enough?

It is, yeah, it's a wafer, it's been dried on for nearly 24 hours.

-The little crisps could be a little bit crisper.

-Yeah.

Haven't had a crisp.

It's quite a modern interpretation. Classical combination of flavours.

The garlic coming in as a gel rather than a puree -

you think that's the right way to deliver it?

It is, yeah, that's just taking it that little step further.

-It's a nice interpretation on a classic dish.

-Yeah.

It's probably a seven.

I think it can be improved, so, yeah. I think seven's fair.

The fun element in it definitely came through.

There's quite a few laughs in there.

So, yeah. All in all, very happy with that.

Next up is technical new boy Chris.

He pours his oriental beef broth into thermoses

and starts his plate off with powdered sesame oil.

You know, Phil seemed happy,

but it's difficult, that deadpan face... That's it, yeah.

-Not giving anything away.

-He wasn't, no.

Chris then adds edible flowers.

Coriander.

And finally, his risky beef stock jelly bar.

-CHRIS EXHALES

-Happy?

Happy as I'm going to be. You just need to eat it while it's hot.

Let's try it.

-With a shaky hand...

-Good - I'd expect nothing less.

Does this deliver that all-important opening course for the banquet?

I think it's got wow factor, I think it's fun.

-You laughing?

-Not really.

Making a hot stock out of melted gel's not funny to me.

Happy with the temperature?

The temperature, could be a tiny bit hotter for me.

-Cold soup.

-Not hot.

-Not at all.

The sesame oil powder - has that contributed what you were hoping?

I think the sesame powder comes through nicely.

That's pretty nice, actually, the sesame.

-Lime's coming through?

-Yeah, I think the lime's there,

gives it a cleaner, more refreshing taste.

He said he put lime in it. I'm not tasting that freshness.

I'm not getting that. When you've got them strong flavours

you really need that acidity to balance it all off.

Chris, in my shoes, what score would you give the dish?

Hmmm. Seven?

I genuinely believe he's going to be hitting a six with this.

I was going to say the same. Really classic Asian ingredients.

I don't think it's a knock-your-socks-off.

I think that went OK.

Difficult. I think Phil's not giving much away

and I hope he liked the dish.

Whoa!!

Last up is cutting-edge new girl, Mary Ellen.

-BLEEP

-was that?!

Who's struggling with more problems.

So you managed to salvage baked beans?

Well, I've done another batch.

Everything else is going to plan?

Er, no. I've got problems with the bath sponges.

-Can't beat the excitement.

-I saw those were staring at you...

-Yeah, thanks for that, guys!

AIDEN LAUGHS

To add to the pressure, she's cooking her sponge

in the same microwave Aiden burnt his garlic crisps in.

-Happy?

-Nearly!

-Second one will be better than the first.

-Always.

Mary Ellen's having a nightmare. She doesn't look in control.

Looks to me like the dish has just gone wrong.

Do one more for luck.

(And she's late.)

Sponges done, they're first to go on to Mary Ellen's bath tile plate.

She then turns her attention to her potted crab-filled baths,

by adding a layer of her own take on baked beans.

15 minutes late, Mary Ellen, you know.

-I know. I feel terrible about it.

-Just thought I'd let you know.

Thanks, Aiden(!)

AIDEN LAUGHS

With time slipping away even further,

she decorates her rubber ducks

before placing them next to her sponge.

Last but not least, and now EXTREMELY late,

she plates up her baked bean bathtub.

OK. Sorry I'm late.

That was hairy. Very late, but you got there.

Most importantly, are you happy with what's on there?

About 80% happy.

-OK, well, come on, let's go and taste it.

-OK, cool.

The sponge, a bath of cold beans, bread and a rubber duck.

It's certainly interesting!

When you read the dish and you hear it, the baked beans

is one of the things that slaps you round.

Are they how you want them to be?

They're slightly off what I want them to be.

I'm just struggling to understand why I like it so much.

It's really tasty.

I'm just trying to get my head around why I'm accepting

eating cold baked beans!

THEY LAUGH

The coming-together of the dish looked like it was a real struggle.

-It's got to be fit for a banquet.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-She had quite a few problems, didn't she?

-Yeah.

-And a hundred of them out.

-That's a big ask.

-Yeah.

Do you think this is the dish

that should be at the opening of the banquet in the Albert Hall?

Yeah, I do. I totally do.

It's a love or hate dish. And I love it.

I love it!

-And you know what? She's unnerved me.

-Yeah, absolutely.

Erm, that was really hard. That was horrible.

I mean, he's nice, you know, didn't give anything away

so I've no idea what's going to happen, scoring-wise.

I don't feel confident at all now.

I don't think I've ever been this nervous in my life, really.

I genuinely believe that Phil's going to give me a decent score. I'd be happy with an eight.

I'd be upset if it was anything below that.

I'm really nervous waiting for my score.

I was 15 minutes late.

Ooh, I really hope he doesn't penalise me for that.

Aiden, for your Mad As A Box Of Frogs,

it's proper fun, and frogs' legs, parsley and garlic, I love that.

On the downside,

I did think - you raised the point - that the portion was too small

and I felt that the modern elements to it didn't bring anything more

than the classical version might have done.

I wasn't quite convinced that the gel was a better vehicle

for the garlic flavour than perhaps a puree would have been.

Chris, for your Oriental-style beef broth with a twist.

I liked the idea. It worked, conceptually.

But, what you had was a broth with bits in it

and whilst it was good, it didn't quite deliver in the flavour stakes

that I was hoping.

And the heat is an issue.

It was cold, it needs to be served piping hot.

So temperature's something you need to look at.

Mary Ellen, for your Baked Bean Bathtub.

I genuinely thought this might be something

that was going to be problematic

just because it was such a comical format

but the truth was, its deliciousness

just overrode that whole issue.

The potted crab was delicious.

The little duck, sublime texture and intense flavour.

But you have to look at the practicalities of the dish.

You have to look at your ability to deliver,

it's going to get served at a banquet and that's an important part.

Let's just make the point clear

you haven't got an opportunity to be late

without incurring a proper penalty.

So Chris, for your Oriental-style beef broth with a twist...

I'm going to give you

six points.

Aiden? for your Mad As A Box Of Frogs,

I'm going to award you...

seven.

Mary Ellen, for your Baked Bean Bath,

I'm going to award you

-eight points.

-Thank you.

-I look forward to the next course.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

CHRIS EXHALES

That was hard, wasn't it?

I really thought I was going to be docked for being late! I really did.

It's just a great start. I'm very relieved. Oh, my God.

It's definitely not all over.

Yeah, I feel a bit disappointed, really.

Admittedly, I'm disappointed I'm not in the lead.

The person I need to look out for is Mary Ellen.

If your taste buds have been tickled

and you'd like to get involved with Red Nose Day

then why not take part in Menu Relief?

To do your bit whilst enjoying an evening out at a local restaurant,

just go to:

And find out how to join in the fun.

Tomorrow, the competition continues with the fish course

and Mary Ellen risks throwing away her advantage.

-BLEEP, BLEEP!

-I just don't know what's happened.

I actually genuinely don't understand.

That's an unfortunate error.

BLEEP!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd