North West Fish Great British Menu

Britain's most talented chefs

are proving they have a sense of humour

on this year's Great British Menu.

-How do I look?

-You look very dashing.

This week, three of the North West's finest chefs,

technical Chris Holland...

Nerves of steel.

..Heston Blumenthal-trained, Mary Ellen McTague...

Not giving anything away.

..and returning contender, Aiden Byrne...

Today's the day, really.

..are fighting for the chance to serve witty playful dishes,

at a special banquet celebrating 25 years of Red Nose Day.

Yesterday's starter course was a baptism of fire

for Mary Ellen and her bath tub...

BLEEP!

..who burnt her beans, was late to the pass...

-Sorry I'm late.

-That looked hairy.

..but still managed to get top marks and outwit her rivals.

-She's unnerved me...

-Yeah, absolutely.

Today, it's the fish course

and Mary Ellen can't afford to make any mistakes

or she risks throwing away her advantage.

BLEEP! I'm coming.

You're cutting it very fine,

you've got to get it up on the pass, on time.

I just don't know what's happened, actually,

I actually genuinely don't understand.

That's an unfortunate howler.

BLEEP!

This year, the chefs must create gastronomic masterpieces

that are also witty and fun.

LAUGHTER

They've been inspired by Comic Relief...

CHEERING

..and have gone to unimaginable lengths to raise money for charity.

CHEERING

Judging the chefs' fish course today

is last year's fish course champion,

who knows how demanding this course can be -

two-Michelin starred Phil Howard.

I think the fish course is probably the least forgiving

in terms of going off piste to try and fit a brief.

You've got to adhere to great cooking principles,

but still make it work.

So, day two, how are we feeling?

You know what, Phil is tougher than I expected him to be.

Yeah, I mean, the scoring went well for me yesterday,

-but I'm still feeling pretty nervous.

-Are you really?

-Yeah.

That's good to know!

THEY LAUGH

We'll see. What about you, Chris?

-How are you feeling?

-Actually, in a strange sort of way,

I feel a bit better now that I've got day one out of the way.

You know, spring in the step.

All right, let's do it.

In first place, is maverick Mary Ellen.

She scored 8 points yesterday,

despite struggling to deliver her starter on time,

and can't afford to make any mistakes today,

if she's to hang on to her one-point lead.

I'm happy that I'm ahead

but I've got a feeling the other two are gunning for me now,

so, that's an added pressure.

-Hello.

-Hello, there.

-Tell me what have you got in here?

-OK,

the fish course is Dover sole.

I'm going to take it off the bone, put it back together.

When you say put it back together, are you going to...

Use a protein glue.

-OK.

-Then we've got oysters and suet and flour

-and I'll make oyster puddings.

-How do you end up doing something

that's homely and rustic and baked, yet have a delicate oyster...?

The key is that it's frozen all the way through before you cook.

I have a thin layer of suet pastry on the top and bottom,

and by the time it's cooked, the oyster has defrosted

and started to warm through, but isn't getting over-cooked.

OK. The brief?

The inspiration for the dish was how people crossed the Channel

to raise money for this great cause, and then I thought about the fish

we have in the Channel, and Dover sole came to mind, first of all.

OK, so much more subtle than the last approach.

Much more subtle, not quite so in-your-face. It looks like a plate of food.

Mary Ellen is continuing her fundraising theme,

but has swapped the wit and humour of her first course

for a less obviously funny restaurant dish,

with peppermint Dover sole and unusual oyster puddings.

It's quite a loose interpretation of the brief.

With the oyster pudding, most of us choose to go out of our way to buy fresh produce

and yet she's choosing here in the process to freeze it,

which is a bit of a question mark.

In second place is returning contender Aiden Byrne,

who's tried and failed here three times, so is desperate to win.

He got off to an average start yesterday,

but scored a perfect ten for his fish course last year.

Outstanding dish!

Thank you, Marcus.

So, he has a lot to prove today.

For me, today is very important.

I really wanted to be the one that went off in the front,

so I need to make sure, today, I absolutely nail it.

-How are we?

-All right.

You good? Tell us, what are you doing?

The title of the dish is A Culinary Joke.

In a nutshell, I'm making a prawn cocktail.

The reason why I believe it was called a culinary joke

is because it's just been done to death

and we're trying to wake it all up a bit.

I'm not going to do a normal prawn cocktail -

we've got beetroot, we've got passionfruit,

we've got sesame seeds, we've got horseradish...

What I've done here is I've thought about all the flavour profiles

within the prawn cocktail and I've just dissected them

-and swapped them around.

-And fitting the brief?

I'm going to take some of the passionfruit juice,

a little bit of red food colouring and we're going to make a balloon,

dip it in liquid nitrogen, chop the bottom off it

and set it on top, so we've got a red nose.

What more can I say, Aiden?! It is, um...

The mission's on.

Aiden is determined to steal the limelight

with a modern take on the classic prawn cocktail,

with an edible red nose and lots of strong flavours.

You've got sesame, beetroot, passionfruit,

horseradish... He's going off piste with the flavours,

and that spells danger to me.

In third place is technical newcomer Chris Holland,

an ambitious young chef who scored just six points yesterday

and is looking to wow today.

I didn't have the greatest of days yesterday,

but it spurred me on. Put a fire in my belly.

Today, I'm going to come back fighting.

Chris, great looking collection of ingredients,

-what are you doing with it?

-Dish title is Gone Fishing.

In essence, I'm doing a smoked salmon, cream cheese bagel

sort of dish. A little bit deconstructed,

so I've got some really nice organic salmon,

which I'm going to cure with some lemons and oranges,

juniper berries, and then I'm going to smoke it.

Hot smoke? Cold smoke?

Six hits of cold smoke

and then it's very slowly poached in the water bath,

and I'm making a horseradish ice cream.

There are a few tubs here, what are these being used for?

We've got a silk gel which is an emulsifier,

it helps with the horseradish ice cream.

And in terms of the brief?

The presentation is quite quirky, so it's fun.

-I'm hoping it'll make you smile.

-OK, chefs,

second course, I look forward to tasting it.

-Best of luck.

-Cheers, Phil.

-Thank you.

Chris is looking to claw back vital points

with a deconstructed salmon and cream cheese bagel,

with smoked salmon, horseradish ice cream

and witty "Gone Fishing" props.

We're after good cooking, and he's obviously got

some clever presentation up his sleeve, which is fun,

but it's got to be nailed to a great dish.

It's got to be a massive honour to get a dish on a banquet.

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

Personally, I'm desperate to get there.

But Aiden has a lot to live up to when it comes to this course.

Last year, Aiden, you got ten out of ten.

Does that put more pressure on you this year?

Yeah, it does put pressure on you, but what I cooked last year

was a dish that I've cooked time and time again.

This is a dish I've never cooked before.

I'm actually quite nervous about it, I don't do prawn cocktails,

I don't do fun food and you know, at the end of the day,

I'm really out of my comfort zone.

Aiden has the added pressure of having to outwit Mary Ellen today,

who's already proved she's a force to be reckoned with,

and is looking to impress again with her unusual oyster puddings,

peppermint Dover sole and verjuice sauce.

Come on, let me see your sole. What have you got happening over here?

OK, the sole has been brined...

..so it's got the peppermint brine.

Interesting. OK.

It's going to get poached now in the burnt butter verjuice.

-And that's had the protein glue?

-Yeah.

There'll be a version of this, although not as thick on the plate,

very aerated, though, very light and frothy.

It's quite a strong flavour, peppermint, oyster, sole,

it's not really something I'd really put together,

but I'm intrigued. At the end of the day,

she served me cold beans and I loved it.

Mary Ellen isn't the only chef threatening to rain on Aiden's parade.

New boy Chris is only one point behind Aiden

and looking for top marks for his deconstructed bagel,

with modern horseradish ice cream and classical smoked salmon,

which he's smoking himself.

Lovely to see this. Let me get a closer look.

So, basically what I'm doing is cold-smoking the salmon,

gives it a real nice, smooth, smoked flavour on the finish,

and then I'll vacuum pack it and it's cooked at 40 degrees.

What's interesting for me, is you've got this very purist,

"I want to smoke my own salmon", on the one hand,

and then lots of powders creeping in

and chemicals creeping in, on the other hand.

I think there's a balance there within this dish.

Although there's a few little modern techniques going on,

-it's classically stuck to its roots, this one.

-Good. I hope so.

Aiden's pinning his banquet hopes on a deconstructed prawn cocktail,

brought bang up-to-date with passion fruit, horseradish,

beetroot and sesame, a culinary joke that could be on him!

Come on, talk us through it. What have we got in here?

Right, basically, these are Sicilian red prawns.

-My main concern about this dish is the flavours.

-Absolutely.

That's my biggest concern

for you tasting this dish, and for you marking and judging this dish.

There's the challenge, to get those four big bold ingredients

-to work alongside the prawns.

-Absolutely.

I think Aidan's dish is going to be a crash-or-burn sort of dish,

I think he's very, very brave in using horseradish, passionfruit...

I don't know whether that will work.

But Aiden's tested his fish course out on regulars

at his restaurant, and is confident he's nailed the food

and fundraising side of this year's brief.

So, Aiden, what did activities did you get up to with Comic Relief?

-I had to walk over hot coals.

-No way!

-It was interesting.

-And are the feet OK?

-They're all right.

-That sounds like a nightmare.

-Altogether, we raised five grand.

-Amazing.

-It was great.

Filled me with confidence to come on and do this, to be fair.

Service, please!

Aiden tested out a version of his deconstructed prawn cocktail

at a fundraising night at his restaurant,

served on a piping-hot salt block.

Quite nervous about it, actually. I didn't want to serve

a typical prawn cocktail with lettuce, tomatoes, Marie Rose sauce,

so I've just taken it that little bit further, changed the ingredients.

It's the development stages, so I'll just where it takes us, really.

Aiden's unusual choice of ingredients went down well with his guests.

It's not your average prawn cocktail. It's fantastic.

The elements, individually, were superb. Combined all together,

it's an absolutely fantastic, award-winning dish.

More importantly, Aiden's guests were there to take part in a charity auction...

I'm going to start at 500 quid for 12 bottles of wine. Anyone in? £500?

..and bid on a case of wine...

I'll go £1,000.

CHEERING

-..and a tasting menu at his restaurant...

-£1,100?

-..to raise money for Comic Relief.

-£1,005.

-Thank you very, very much.

That's a lot of money being raised for Comic Relief. Thank you.

But unbeknown to his guests,

Aiden had a trick up his sleeve to pull in even more pounds.

What we're going to do is we're going to walk from the top...

..a fundraising feat that no-one was expecting,

supervised by a fully-trained expert and nurse.

This is my fourth time in this competition.

I've driven a tank, cycled with a gold medallist

and now I'm walking on fire.

I never thought I'd be doing anything like this. It's amazing.

I'm so nervous.

1,236 degrees Fahrenheit is an average temperature

-you're walking on tonight.

-OK.

So, four times the burning temperature of skin.

-Keep on moving. Keep on moving.

-OK.

I think he's absolutely crazy.

CHEERING

Thank you very much. Ten more pounds, guys.

Now I've done this, I can do anything.

I'm going to go on and win this competition.

Back in the kitchen, Aiden's taking a gamble

with a brand-new element for his deconstructed prawn cocktail.

Initially, I was going to serve it on a slab

of Himalayan rock salt and have a little fire burning underneath it.

But it wasn't fun enough.

So, basically, what I've done, I've put the whole thing inside a bowl

and then I've put my red nose on top.

I've made quite a lot of changes there.

So, do you reckon that every dish that you put up

has to have this comedy element in the presentation?

It's got to be great food, but great humour, as well.

It's not going to make it to the Albert Hall

if it's not a show-stopper.

Aiden's come up with an ingenious way to make sure

his fish course has the wow factor.

And then I blow my balloon up to the desired size of my nose...

I think the fact that he's now got this really strong, obvious,

Comic Relief element to it

is a big worry, because I don't have that in my dish at all.

That's my biggest worry, actually.

Literally, I've got a bowl of liquid nitrogen here

and I'm just going to roll it around.

As the juice hits the side of the frozen walls,

it'll collect on the side of the wall and freeze.

Extraordinary.

Aiden isn't the only one paying special attention

to his presentation.

Chris has a surprise in store for his deconstructed "Gone Fishing" bagel,

and is serving his savoury horseradish ice cream

in a novel way that's caught Mary and Aiden's eye.

Piped it into the mould.

At the end, I'll finish them with sesame seeds.

So the idea is that it looks like a bagel.

There's going to be a real theatrical element to his dish,

which, again, I'm not sure that I have in mine.

Mary Ellen's surprise element is suet oyster puddings

that she's serving alongside her peppermint Dover sole,

with delicate oysters that need minimal cooking

and suet pastry that needs to be cooked through,

a dilemma she's addressed by freezing her puddings first,

something Phil's in two minds about.

-Oyster puddings?

-Oyster puddings ready to go in the steamer.

-I'm looking forward to trying this. Where are they now?

-They're frozen to the middle.

-Proper frozen solid?

-Yep.

-And that doesn't have any effect on the texture

-or the edibility of the oyster?

-No. It still stays nice and plump and...

-an overcooked oyster's horrible so...

-And an icy cold oyster in the middle would also be very unpleasant.

-Yes, it would.

-So, those now, you're going to steam them?

-Yep.

-For how long?

-15 minutes.

It's a thin layer of suet, so 15 is just right.

I'll get them in.

Mary Ellen had trouble with her cooking times yesterday...

..which resulted in her being late to the pass...

-BEEPING

-Puddings.

Backs, please.

..mistakes she can't afford to make again today.

BLEEP!

I think that Mary Ellen's timing's going to be crucial today.

She's got to get the puddings perfectly timed.

She doesn't want them to spoil. She doesn't want them to overcook.

Obviously, yesterday, she had a bit of a hiccup with timing, so I think

she's putting herself under a lot of pressure again today with that.

Mary Ellen's first to the pass today.

She dresses her plate with samphire and sea vegetables...

and her fish with verjuice jelly.

-It's a big portion of fish, isn't it?

-Do you think?

With no time to change the size of her fish,

she gets her peppermint-cured Dover sole onto her plate.

-You happy?

-Er... Ask me again in four minutes.

-OK.

Then it's on with her suet oyster puddings

which have had their 15 minutes in the oven.

I'm coming.

One second. There we go.

You're cutting it very fine now, timing-wise.

You've got to get it up on the pass on time.

With the clock ticking, she scatters on some more sea vegetables

and goes to siphon out her verjuice sauce.

-And with one disaster averted...

-OK.

..delivers her Dover sole to the pass.

-You made it. You made it.

-Yes. Just.

So, is this an understudy or is this the real thing?

-It's the real thing.

-It's the real thing?

-Yeah.

That was the only possible answer. Come on. Let's go and confirm that.

So, first impressions. Completely different approach from yesterday.

-It's a restaurant dish.

-It is a restaurant dish.

So, it's a restaurant dish. Where's the fun element?

Where is the fun element?

-The flavour is there.

-The pastry's undercooked.

Yes.

I just... I just don't know what's happened, actually.

I actually genuinely don't understand,

because I've cooked this pudding so many times.

Obviously, I've cocked up badly there,

but I'm genuinely baffled as to how.

That's an unfortunate howler.

BLEEP.

The peppermint does come through, doesn't it?

-It's very clever, actually.

-It's lovely.

It's very subtle but that's a very powerful dish.

With the fish, that's the crux of the dish.

Has it delivered the results that you wanted?

Yeah, I think you get that background note of the mint

in the fish. I think it's nice and moist.

I think it definitely delivers on flavour.

I think you can't question that.

Do you think you've done enough to hit the brief?

Honestly, after seeing what the others are doing, I have concerns.

It's a beautiful piece of cookery. The presentation is lovely.

-But it's not funny.

-It's just the most basic thing, cooking pastry.

It's the most basic thing and I think...

even if the rest of the dish was absolutely amazing,

you know, the fact of that is going to have a big impact.

Next up is Aiden, who has a lot to prove today.

He starts his plate off with lobster powder, adds slices of beetroot,

some passion fruit and horseradish gel...

sesame seeds, and his vibrant Sicilian prawns.

He then finishes his deconstructed prawn cocktail

with more lobster powder and some passion-fruit dressing...

Have you got the cloches, Alan?

..before revealing his secret weapon...

his comedy red nose.

-Bit of a sweat on there, chef.

-Good.

Good. That's exactly what I like to see. You should have.

-Happy?

-I am very happy, yes.

Let's go and eat because that needs to be given some attention.

There's only one thing that has to be done and that's just get in there.

-What's in the red nose?

-Passion-fruit liquid.

It really comes through, doesn't it?

Beetroot, horseradish, sesame, passion fruit.

They're very distinct things.

-Are you happy that they've come together and are balanced?

-I am, yeah.

If anything, the beetroot softens it

and the passion fruit brings it back to life again,

and you get the shellfish from the powder, you get the shellfish from the prawn itself,

and the ice just calms everything down a little bit.

-There's a lot of flavours in this dish.

-Yeah.

I mean, it's pretty far removed from a prawn cocktail, you know?

-It's like...

-It's almost certainly a deconstruction.

-Yeah.

The prawns are pretty rare, as well, I have to say. They're kind of...

This one here needs...

-Deveining?

-That possibly would put some people off.

The balloon was worth the effort? The stress?

Without the balloon, it doesn't fit the brief.

I've definitely given it my stamp...

For me, it's a lovely, fresh-tasting dish.

It's another one that makes you smile.

Again, with the red nose, you've got happy food. It makes you smile.

I'm not going to try and guess what my points are

cos I just genuinely can't read that guy.

He's virtually impossible.

Last up is Chris and his "Gone Fishing" bagel

with smoked salmon and horseradish cream cheese ice cream.

He's pulling out all the stops today to claw back vital points,

and, like Aiden, has paid special attention to his dish's presentation.

I like those little fishermen. Have they got names?

They have got names.

-My children have put names on the bottom of them.

-Really?

-That's so sweet.

-This is Harold Hake and this is Sydney the Salmon.

It's a family effort, this one.

He's serving his smoked salmon with caviar,

edible flowers and bagel-shaped, savoury, horseradish ice cream.

Why aren't you sweating like I was?

Nerves of steel. I'm sweating inside.

Like Aiden, he's come up with a novel way to inject

some added wow factor into his otherwise quite classical dish.

Coming now.

No need to ask why it's called "Gone Fishing."

Brings a smile. It's part of the remit. Let's go and tuck into it.

Come on, then.

You know, boy, it's on the brief, that's for sure.

Are you happy with it as a plate of food?

Yes, I think I am. Yeah. I think I'm happy with it.

It's a classic combination. Pretty much everything's in there.

The horseradish, the cream cheese, the smoked salmon, the cucumber,

the caviar. He's nailed it, really.

Savoury ice cream, which is a more modern take.

It's very savoury, actually.

I don't sense there's any sugar in there at all.

There's no sugar at all.

I'm a bit dubious about savoury ice creams, to be honest with you.

But, you know what?

That's gorgeous. It's a really, really, really nice heat in it.

PHIL: So, this was a fresh fillet of salmon.

-Are you happy with the way it's turned out?

-Yeah, I am.

The smoke's there but it's not too acrid

and it's got a really nice, smooth finish on there.

The smoke's lovely.

It's a pretty safe dish, isn't it?

The only surprise element for me is the horseradish ice cream.

-And you're happy it fits the brief?

-I am.

For me, I was looking for a bit of elegance, really, with this.

Not too many crazy flavours.

-Classic, simple. Done a little bit different.

-OK.

-Well, well, well. How was it?

-Well done.

I think it was OK. I think it was OK.

-Poker face again.

-He's a tough one to crack, isn't he?

-Absolutely.

Evening, crew. How are we?

All right.

OK. So, we'll start in the order they came up. Mary Ellen,

your Dover sole.

I loved the idea behind the oyster pudding.

I like garnishes like that,

they have their place in a competition like this

and they're fun.

I thought the emulsion, the sauce, the foam,

was absolutely delicious.

It was balanced. It had zing. It really delivered.

On the other hand...

we know that the suet was really raw.

At the end of the day, an error,

whilst it's not catastrophic,

in a competition, it can't go unnoticed.

It's also fair to say, is it witty enough

to really stand proud in the menu?

Aiden,

for the culinary joke,

I thought the red nose...

..was everything that this competition should be about.

It's modern,

it brought exactly the right amount of humour to the dish.

I thought that was pure class.

Personally, I felt the prawns were somehow a little bit lost

in the middle, in terms of the degree of cooking that you're taking them to.

And generally speaking,

I felt challenged by the combination of flavours.

I loved a lot of the dish and I wish I'd been sold and thought,

"Yeah, I get it now" once I'd eaten it.

Chris, for "Gone Fishing",

certainly a smile appeared on my chops.

I liked it. It's fun.

I thought the take on the dish was contemporary

and, actually, all that emphasis on the salmon,

I thought it was absolutely worthwhile.

It was a combination of hot-smoked, cold,

it had a bit of cooking and I thought it delivered.

Personally, I think there could have been a bit of fresh horseradish

and a little bit of sugar in the ice cream.

I just think that helps to lift the flavour.

It was a savoury thing and the seasoning was right on the edge.

OK. So, to the scores.

Mary Ellen, for your Dover sole...

..I'm going to give you...

..seven points.

Aiden, for the culinary joke...

..I'm going to give you...

-..eight points.

-Thank you, Phil.

Chris.

For "Gone Fishing"...

..I'm going to give you...

-..eight points.

-Thank you very much.

I'm looking forward to the next course. Let's look for a great dish.

Let's try and find a ten in there somewhere. I can feel it coming.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Well done, everybody.

-Well done.

-That's not too bad.

-Well done.

-That was hard.

-Thank you.

So, two courses down, and returning contender Aiden has caught

Mary Ellen up with 15 points a piece,

leaving Chris trailing behind by just one point.

I'm a bit shocked, actually.

I was thinking I was going to get, like, maybe a two,

-so I'm really, really, really relieved.

-Yeah, I'm happy.

-There's one point in it now.

-Great.

I'm absolutely delighted to get an eight out of ten.

I know I've done a good job. Bring on tomorrow.

Tomorrow, it's the main course, and Aiden thinks he has the advantage.

I've put the bells and whistles on with my starter and my fish course.

Wait till you see this one. It's an absolute blinder.

But will his confidence get in the way?

BLEEP.

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