South West Starter Great British Menu

This year on Great British Menu,

the nation's most talented chefs

have been challenged to bring out their funny side

and create witty playful food that's also a gastronomic masterpiece.

For a special banquet

celebrating 25 years of Red Nose Day

at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall.

This week three of the south west's culinary heavyweights enter the fray.

Classically trained Chris Eden.

Different environment, different kitchen.

Experimental young gun Peter Sanchez-Iglesias.

Pressure's on massively.

And rising star Emily Watkins.

Bit of a race against time at the moment.

Today it's the starter

and with all three chefs being new to the Great British Menu kitchen,

they're out to prove their mettle.

The dish just encompasses everything I love.

Got to get it right, got to get it exactly right.

But has innovator Peter bitten off more than he can chew?

I'm trying, man, I'm trying really really hard.

And when the pressure rises in the kitchen...

BLEEP

Emily struggles to hold her nerve.

Oh God, I'm really, really unhappy with everything.

Over the past three decades, Comic Relief has changed the lives of millions,

both at home and around the world.

And this year the chefs have been challenged to entertain and delight

with fun, witty dishes.

-BANG

-Argh!

-That are also culinary works of art.

They've gone outside their comfort zones to raise a smile,

raise money and support Comic Relief.

This week deciding who will go forward to represent the south west

is two-Michelin-starred two-time winner of the banquet main course,

Gloucestershire's own Tom Kerridge.

Morning, guys!

You look very nervous.

Don't be nervous. Just got to cook your socks off and do your best.

-Right, guys, I'll see you in the kitchen.

-Thank you.

Coming from the south west, the one thing that the area has is amazing produce.

I'm looking for great ingredients.

They have to be innovative, creative.

I'm looking for an element that makes me smile.

I'm looking for perfect execution of dishes.

Got one no nuts on the beetroot.

First up is self-taught young gun Peter Sanchez-Iglesias,

who together with his brother Jonray,

heads up the kitchen at award-winning family restaurant Casamia in Bristol.

Mum and Dad brought us into the restaurant going back 12 years ago.

And six years ago me and Jonray took over the kitchen.

We always look at the past and what we're doing.

And really fun playful dishes as well.

An experimental cooking style that made Peter one of the youngest chefs in the UK

to hold a Michelin star.

I'm massively competitive.

I'm going to go all guns blazing and hopefully get to the final banquet.

-What have we got here?

-I'm doing a picnic.

OK. You think picnics are fun?

-Yeah, definitely.

-OK.

-Everyone has fun with a picnic.

OK, so talk me through the dish.

I'm doing a new potato salad with truffle.

Using these little baby vine potatoes.

These are grown off a vine. I'll be cooking it with a bit of clay.

-Make them taste like they've come from the ground.

-Exactly.

Why haven't we got potatoes from the ground?

Cos these are sweeter. They are really, really good.

And then coronation chicken. Making a lovely little mousse out of that.

Going to roast the skin as well so you get a bit crispy and get that roasted chicken flavour.

-What are the quail eggs for?

-These are little Scotch eggs.

These are going to be served hot so we have the benefit of that lovely warm, oozy centre

and then quiche Lorraine.

So I'm using this Keen's cheddar.

Seems like there's quite a lot going on.

It's going to be tough. I'm worried about timing, making sure I get everything done.

Risk taker Peter is taking inspiration from his childhood

with a witty take on a nostalgic picnic.

Coronation chicken terrine,

Quiche Lorraine mousse

and a warm, runny Scotch egg.

He's got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

So he's going to have to use his skills and technique.

To make quiche Lorraine amazing,

you've got to be a good chef to do that.

-Lamb now. Behind this I want to go lamb and a bass.

-Yes, chef.

Next is classically trained heavyweight Chris Eden,

from the Driftwood Hotel in Cornwall.

He serves modern twists on the classics

and has found this year's humorous brief tough.

The food at the restaurant is quite serious.

Doing it to a way that fits the brief definitely has pushed myself to the absolute limits.

But at the same time I love a challenge.

Behind this I want to go partridge, mullet, OK?

With a coveted Michelin star to his name,

Chris is confident he has what it takes to go all the way.

I'm really looking forward to getting into a kitchen and having a good battle.

OK, chief, what's the name of your dish?

The dish is duck a l'orange.

How does this fit the Comic Relief brief?

It's a classic dish but it's going to be turned on its head.

The presentation of it is a bit fun. It's playful. It's quirky.

-Here's some puffed rice.

-Puffed rice.

-Honeycomb.

-Honeycomb a little sweet for the dish, you think?

It is sweet but also as well

it kind of gives it a texture, a bit of richness.

I'm going to be making a parfait,

I'm going to be making a mousse with confit leg through it.

Obviously oranges is a big part of it as well.

So there's going to be a jelly and a puree with it.

OK, so this is a new kitchen. Nervous about that?

There's lots of elements of this dish I'm really nervous about.

I've got to be on top of my game.

Chris is looking to raise a smile

with a modern twist on duck a l'orange.

Making duck confit mousse, orange gel and a quirky tin of duck liver parfait

with a honeycomb topping and sweet brioche toast.

There's honeycomb, which is very sweet.

There's puffed rice, there's orange.

It sounds almost dessert-y,

so I'm a little worried that maybe the balance might be overpowering.

There's a lot for Chris to be working on.

If he gets one of these elements wrong, his dish could be ruined.

-One chicken, one smoked eel.

-Yes, chef.

Last up is rising star Emily Watkins.

Italian trained, the ex Fat Duck chef opened her own restaurant

six years ago at her Cotswolds pub the Kingham Plough.

It's definitely the biggest challenge I've ever faced as a chef.

There's no doubt about it, I'm terrified.

Am I going to be able to get it out in time? Will it come out how I hope it'll come out?

I just hope that I can do it!

Looking a little nervous. Tell me your dish.

We're doing eggs and ham to start with.

A take on the old children's classic Dr Seuss Green Eggs and Ham.

Used to amuse me a lot when I was a kid.

And I think people will recognise this as soon as it comes out.

And hopefully it'll make them smile as well.

-OK, so we've got pork.

-We've got the pork loin there.

-OK.

That's your pork ham and this is the lardo.

-Cured pork fat basically.

-Yeah.

-From the back of the pig.

Going to have a fried egg which is basically made up of the lardo

and then I'm going to make a really nice fresh pea puree

and set that and make it into a gel-coated ball sphere

to be the pea yolk.

-So quite a technical element, trying to bring a fun thing into the dish.

-Yeah.

Also I'm using the livers as well to make a light parfait.

-Cold liver parfait.

-Yeah.

-This is a childhood memory kind of dish.

-Yes.

Same as yours, young Peter. Childhood memory dish.

Rising star Emily has taken inspiration from her favourite childhood book

and is recreating Dr Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham

with pork loin, pork liver parfait

and a visually playful pea and pork fat egg.

She's trying to be quite clever. She's serving a pork liver parfait.

She's setting a pea puree to look like an egg yolk.

I just hope she's not trying too hard.

Listen, guys, don't be nervous, get it out there. Good luck.

Cooking underway, all three first timers are trying to get to grips

with the Great British Menu kitchen.

You don't know what to expect till you're here and start cooking.

Different environment, different kitchen.

Race against time at the moment.

You've got to deal with it and get on with it.

But talented Emily has the added pressure of two fearsome Michelin starred competitors.

She may consider herself an underdog

but for me in that kitchen

all accolades go out of the window.

And they're all starting on zero.

Emily's looking to raise a smile with her culinary take on a childhood literary classic.

And her clever mock egg with pea puree and preserved pork fat

has veteran Tom curious.

-Have you cured that?

-I haven't, no. We do usually do it ourselves.

-But it takes several months to do it.

-Absolutely.

The boys who breed the pork have just started doing a charcuterie.

And were really pleased to get their hands on my recipe.

Emily's local pork supplier run by brothers Nick and John Francis

is home to the largest herd of rare breed Tamworth pigs in the UK,

an ingredient Emily's hoping will give her starter the winning edge.

Today we're going to Paddock Farm.

Which is basically our pork supplier.

Grace and Alfie are excited about going to see the pigs as well.

Emily's keen to find out how the brothers have got on

with her time-consuming cured pork fat recipe.

And takes the opportunity to teach her children about where their food comes from.

Something close to her heart.

I've got two little ones and fortunately they share my and my husband's interest in food.

Anything from when we're out walking the dogs to picking blackberries.

Another one? You've had about a million.

And using quality local produce is key to Emily's menu.

So will Nick and John's attempt at her slow cured pork fat recipe

be good enough for the competition?

-I think it's brilliant.

-Delicious, isn't it?

-I'm quite a fan, yeah.

-You've got every chance of going the whole way.

-Thank you.

Something Emily wants more than anything.

It would be incredible to take one of my dishes to the banquet.

It would be such a huge honour,

it would be such a massive pat on the back for everything which I do.

Everything which I've spent the last 12 years doing.

Throw. Good girl!

They love that!

Back in the kitchen, Emily's making the green yolk for her pea and pork fat egg.

A key element of her dish.

Argh!

But there's a problem with one of her setting agents.

-Emily, are you OK?

-No.

-Why, what's happened?

-Well, I'm stressing out.

The pea puree has got calcium lactate going into it.

The flavour seems to be coming through. That calcium flavour.

I don't know what's going on.

Getting a bit in there, aren't we? Yes? A lot?

With her pea flavour compromised,

Emily has no other option but to start her puree from scratch.

A timely mistake that could make her late for the pass.

Determined newcomer Peter isn't letting Emily's disaster distract him.

He's focusing on the crostini for his complex picnic dish.

And looking to impress Tom with groundbreaking new twists

on old picnic favourites like quiche.

This is just quiche Lorraine like a puree?

Like a puree but it'll be moussey so really delicate.

I like that kind of softness of the quiche.

Did I see yellow food colouring going in?

I put a bit of yellow food colouring in.

Cos sometimes the eggs are not predominantly orange enough.

But that almost gives it... A cheeky little trick really.

-A cheeky little trick.

-Cheeky little trick.

Peter's confidence in the kitchen stems from his family

who've owned a restaurant in Bristol for 12 years.

Mum and Dad have always shown us the way, really, with food.

That's that warm kind of lovely homey feeling.

They were the obviously guinea pigs to test his starter on.

Them being my biggest critics, it's going to be interesting to see how it goes down with them.

So Peter arranged a family get-together at a favourite childhood picnic spot

that brings back happy memories for mum Susan.

We've just had so many amazing times with picnics.

Precious time with nothing else around. You're out in the open air.

Which I think is important for all families.

Fun times Peter hopes will strike a chord with the judges.

An orange, there you go. That's your picnic, you're not getting any more.

Pete suits this challenge massively because his dishes are childhood based memoires

and he's going to bring laughter to the dining room and I think that's what it needs.

See what you think about these Scotch eggs.

I know you're going to be fussy after the ones you made when we were younger.

Well, I didn't make them really, did I? just told you I did!

SHE LAUGHS

Mmm!

Oh my God, Mum. You're making a mess.

That's delicious.

That's a thumbs up from Mum then. But what about ex chef Dad?

This is a winning dish.

And brother and fellow head chef Jonray?

Perfect.

I'll give you that tenner later, all right? Thanks.

I've been very proud of Peter since he was little.

I know he'll become a man with such a talent.

Extremely proud. I tell everybody!

Back in the kitchen, Peter's hoping his Scotch quail egg

will go down as well with veteran Tom.

But he still has a lot to do.

-Feel under pressure?

-Time's ticking but getting on with it bit by bit.

To be honest, you don't look that stressed.

Oh, man, inside I am. My heart's going a million miles an hour.

And Peter is not the only one feeling the pressure.

Culinary heavyweight Chris is using a lot of different techniques and textures

to turn duck a l'orange into a performance on a plate.

But may have bitten off more than he can chew.

I need to get on. I need to get the reduction on for the parfait. I need to make the parfait.

I need to make the mousse, need to get the legs in.

These are the key elements I've got to start worrying about.

And veteran Tom is uncertain about Chris's unusual choice of topping for his duck parfait.

-What we got here?

-Puffed rice, honeycomb and toasted hazelnuts.

Worried that's a little sweet?

I think when you eat it, the parfait's really rich.

-That kind of gives it texture.

-You sound out of breath, mate!

-Lot to do!

-You running out of time?

-Not yet.

-OK, I'll let you get on with it.

Classically trained Chris is a perfectionist

and has a Michelin-star reputation to maintain.

TANNOY: The final day here at the Cornwall food and drink festival in Truro.

The dishes that I'm creating for this year's brief

will touch everybody's hearts

but with an element that the ingredients that I believe in

which is Cornish based.

New dad Chris has come to a food festival

with wife Sam and son Lucas, his biggest supporters,

to find out what his duck suppliers think of a key element of his starter.

The liver parfait.

I just want to give you a taste and tell me what you honestly think.

-They blend together beautifully.

-Finishes it off.

It rounds it, doesn't it?

-You think I've got a winner?

-It's the winner.

-Certainly have.

Winning Great British Menu would mean so much to Chris.

He's just been living, breathing Great British Menu,

doing everything he possibly can!

So I think it's going to mean a lot

and it's going to make our little boy really proud.

It's given me a lot more confidence when I seen them smiling and believing in it.

So I just can't wait to get in the kitchen now and finish off my dish.

Chris has a trick up his sleeve for his parfait's presentation.

A quirky tin complete with cartoon ducks

which he's hoping will raise a smile with veteran Tom.

But it's Emily and her risky green eggs and ham dish

that has Tom's full attention at the moment.

-How you doing, Emily?

-All right.

This is the second batch. That should be all right.

Should just taste of peas.

BLEEP

There's another problem.

Emily still isn't convinced she's got the calcium levels right

and she hasn't got time to change it.

With the clock ticking, she sets her frozen pea puree together in an alginate bag,

to form a sphere, and warms it through in hot water.

Then tops fried bread with minced pork fat,

places the pea sphere on top

and finishes her mock egg with slices of cured pork fat.

Before turning her attention to her pork liver parfait.

Oh!

And running into yet another problem.

Her parfait is too loose but she's run out of time.

She has no choice but to serve her unset parfait

with her sourdough soldiers and finely sliced dehydrated ham.

Oh God, I'm really unhappy with everything.

It's not come out how it's come out a hundred times in practice.

-It's not good enough.

-It's out of your hair.

It's not good enough. It's going to haunt me.

Why don't we go and taste it and we'll go from there.

I'd rather not.

Basically I've buckled under pressure today.

Not happy with the presentation. Not happy with some of the content.

Ultimately I'm disappointed in myself.

I really feel for Emily. She's not really happy, is she?

It looks really good as well.

Are you happy with the way that's turned out?

Yeah, it's come together OK, that. I like the crunch at the bottom.

-I like the lardo in there.

-Texture's a bit weird, the fat.

I don't think the egg was as bad as what she was making out, did you?

I just think it needs to be tweaked a little bit more.

So are you happy with the calcium levels of...

I'm still tasting a little bit of calcium.

You've got the parfait here.

-Could that have been a little firmer?

-Yes, it should be.

It will be right now

but it's because I put into the gun too soon before the end.

It needs a good five or ten minutes to set up a bit.

Strong?

-Very strong flavour.

-It's a nice dish.

It's not excellent like I wanted it to be.

OK, it wasn't what I wanted. It's taught me one hell of a lesson.

Anything can happen in there.

I've really, really got to concentrate

if I want to try and get myself some respect back again.

Next to the pass is Michelin starred young gun Peter

with his nostalgic take on a British picnic.

Featuring quiche Lorraine mousse, coronation chicken terrine,

and a hot, runny Scotch egg.

But perfectionist Peter won't be rushed

and is over ten minutes late.

Any longer and he risks being penalised

and compromising Chris's dish which is up next.

Are you going to be much longer cos I need to go?

I'm trying, man, I'm trying really really hard.

Trying to be as fast as I can.

But the main thing for me is make sure I get it right.

Just no point serving up something I'm not 100 per cent happy with.

Don't you start telling me that now!

With time tight and tensions mounting,

Peter puts the finishing touches to his potato and truffle salad,

served in a quirky barcoded box,

places his hot Scotch eggs on to his plate

and then gingerly adds his delicate quiche Lorraine mousses.

-Good things come to those who wait.

-A long time!

Before placing the whole thing in a nostalgic wicker basket.

Complete with astro turf and atmospheric picnic noises.

But Peter is 15 minutes late.

They say better late than never.

You've got to get it right, got to get it exactly right.

We'll go and have a picnic. You two enjoy this one.

Lead the way, chef.

So Peter, come up late.

Yeah, it was tough. It took that little bit extra time to make sure it's right.

-It's really cool.

-Presentation is absolutely spot on.

I like that little detail, the sticker on the top there.

Potato and truffle salad.

-Where shall we start? Quiche Lorraine?

-Let's go for it.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, really happy with that.

That does taste good.

I think if you were to buy that, that barcode would be an expensive price.

Definitely.

Chicken coronation.

-Pleased with those flavours?

-Yeah. Really pleased.

Can you still taste the chicken?

Yeah, sure, you get a little roast.

It's just the mousse in the middle, it just kind of...

Doesn't get my juices flowing.

It's a little bit bland in comparison to these other lovely things.

It'd be nice to have more seasoning.

Is this one of your strongest dishes?

Yeah. I think it's a bit of fun. Bit of laughter.

I think people enjoy it. I think everybody remembers a good picnic.

Scotch egg. That hasn't got a runny egg.

-He's in trouble.

-Yeah.

Ah, damn it!

It's runny!

The boy's done good.

-What's not to like?

-Yeah.

Wondering what would happen if he'd put it on the pass on time.

Last to plate up is Chris,

who's had the many components for his duck a l'orange starter

ready and waiting for quite some time.

Thanks to Peter.

With his duck confit mousse, orange gel and sliced duck ham plated,

Chris turns his attention to his quirky tins.

With layers of duck parfait, honeycomb crumbs,

and cubes of orange jelly.

Before delivering his starter to the pass,

the rack of toasted sweet brioche.

This is my duck a l'orange.

Quirky little tins.

I'll take this and this. You can bring the toast.

And you guys enjoy that one.

-See you in a minute.

-You lead the way, chef.

So did it all go to plan as you wanted to?

It was a real push. I'm not going to lie to you.

It's definitely quite a quirky take on duck a l'orange, isn't it?

-Yeah, definitely.

-I like this tin with the duck and the orange.

Would you think there may be too much going on in that tin?

-In the parfait?

-The honeycomb gives it sweetness.

Little bit of zing from the orange.

Hazelnuts and puffed rice gives it texture.

The balance of the sweetness?

There's quite a lot going on in one little mouthful.

-It's hard to distinguish what is what.

-Works well, doesn't it?

-Talk me through this.

-In here I made a duck mousse.

Lots of orange gel.

There's confit leg in there with some sliced duck ham

and on top of it there's some orange meringue.

Duck's perfectly soft and tender.

There's a lot going on, that's probably my only criticism.

Whether people get it to eat it together.

Where's the humour element come from here?

I wanted to bring a bit of quirkiness and fun.

I think that tin, when you look at it, kind of makes you smile a bit.

For me I've delivered 90 per cent of what I wanted to do.

So if you were scoring this you'd give this nine out of ten?

Erm... Far as I'm concerned, a good way to start the banquet.

Whether or not he thinks the same as I do, I really can't tell.

So I guess I'll find out in a few minutes.

It's been a tough day, hasn't it?

It's been very tough, man, yeah, definitely.

At least I'm prepared for a very low score.

-So...

-You never know.

-I get what I deserve.

See what happens.

OK, Emily, I'll start with you.

For your eggs and ham.

I thought it was perfect for the brief.

It showed ambition and it showed humour and fun.

You were initially worried about the pea puree.

But actually the end result I thought was fantastic.

For me the parfait didn't work.

It was a little bitter and it wasn't set properly.

I think the nerves got the better of you.

We know you're a better chef than that.

OK. Peter.

For your picnic.

I loved the presentation.

The sense of humour with it was real spot on. What the brief is looking for.

The Scotch egg, fantastic.

I loved the idea of the coronation chicken

-but that for me was the weakest element of the dish.

-Yeah.

It was a little bit more style over the actual substance.

The quiche. I was a little worried about that.

But do you know what? It was amazing.

I would go as far as to say it's one of the nicest things I've eaten on Great British Menu.

But let's not forget you were 15 minutes late to the pass.

OK, Chris.

For your duck a l'orange.

I was a little worried about the sweetness. The honeycomb going on top of the parfait.

But do you know what, I was wrong to doubt you.

I thought it was a stroke of genius.

That part of the dish was absolutely stunning.

The orange gel to me tasted a little synthetic.

Then there was the mousse, which I thought was a little firm.

I didn't think it flowed.

I thought it felt like two dishes.

I'm not really sure that you hit the total humour of the brief with that dish.

OK, for the scores.

Emily.

Your eggs and ham...

I'm giving you five.

Thank you. Thank you, chef.

Peter, for your picnic...

I'm giving you nine.

But I'm going to give you a penalty point, Peter,

so your final score is eight.

And Chris, for your duck,

I'm giving you...

Six.

Guys, I think there's a few nerves in this kitchen.

Just got to take a deep breath, conquer them, and smash some great food out.

-I'm sweating.

-Well done.

I think he's been very forgiving to me.

Yeah.

I'm massively disappointed losing that one extra mark

because that can make a difference at the end of the week.

I think I really messed up and I was disappointed.

-I know that I can do better.

-Emily got a five.

And so the way I look at it now

is that my dish has got to be pretty bad.

Obviously I'm a little bit worried.

All the chefs competing in the series are doing their bit for Comic Relief

by taking part in Menu Relief along with hundreds of other restaurants all over the country.

Go to bbc.co.uk/rednoseday to find out more and learn about Red Nose Day 2013.

Tomorrow it's the fish course.

Peter races against the clock

and it doesn't get any easier for Chris

when he's judged by his old boss.

Hello, Chris!

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