South West Main Great British Menu

The best of British chefs are bringing out their funny sides.

-Same!

-Yes!

And this week on Great British Menu,

it's the battle of the South West newcomers.

-It's the big one, isn't it?

-Ooh!

Young gun, Peter Sanchez Iglesias...

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

..rising star, Emily Watkins...

Don't you start telling me that now!

..and classically trained Chris Eden...

Watching the clock going down,

you have to keep on running, keep on going.

..are vying for the chance to cook at a special banquet,

in honour of 25 years of Red Nose Day,

with gastronomic masterpieces full of fun.

-Mmm.

-Wow.

Yesterday, whilst all eyes were on Peter

-to make it to the pass on time...

-All about precision and timing.

..it was Emily's fish course...

I'm giving you six out of ten.

..and Chris' that failed to deliver their punch lines...

It got a little bit lost somewhere.

-..leaving Peter...

-It's all on time, Chief.

-Well done.

..to forge further ahead. Today, it's the halfway point.

Massive pressure. After all, it is the main course.

Can Chris and Emily pull off their dishes...

It's not going to allow me to stop and start. It'll just lose its form

which will be a disaster.

..and rein in young gun Peter...

On schedule, today?

Never going to let me live this down, are you?

-..as the competition heats up?

-Whoa!

This year, Great British Menu is celebrating Red Nose Day.

Mmmmm...

The challenge is to tickle taste buds with witty, dazzling dishes.

Woo hoo!

And the chefs have all done their bit, raising money

and visiting projects supported by Comic Relief across the UK.

-Teaches respect, teaches them to be fit, wellbeing.

-OK!

But to get to the banquet, the South West competitors have to first

get past two-time champion, The King Of Mains - Tom Kerridge.

This is main course day, And main course, that's my favourite.

I've got two dishes to the banquet and I really want to see

a performance that will blow my socks off and want an encore.

Tom Kerridge, he's only won it twice before,

he's been pretty brutal as a judge so far.

-I'm pretty scared, I don't know about you guys.

-Yeah, I'm terrified.

-Definitely.

-Going to be a tough day.

-Very tough.

First into the kitchen is innovative young gun, Peter Sanchez Iglesias,

who's leading the competition with his blend of nostalgic food

and state-of-the-art techniques.

The meat course is going to be exactly

the same as what my other dishes are all about, and that's nostalgia.

Times when I was really happy.

I've just got to make sure, I get in there, get it done.

-Name your dish.

-Today, I'm doing a roast dinner.

Taking inspiration by my man.

All the family being round the table, enjoying themselves,

having a great time.

But I'm doing lamb and mint so this is the best end of lamb

and I'm going to be slowly cooking it, using a water bath.

But then I'm going to be putting it in a pan

and really getting that caramelisation,

-that whole roasting...

-Trying to get the roast flavours afterwards, OK.

I just want it to be cooked perfectly.

Some little baby onions.

Yeah, so onions and leak, this is going to be more like a stew.

And potatoes.

Potatoes. It wouldn't be the same without roast potatoes.

And the fun element is going to come from where?

The way it'll be served is really cool,

I can't wait for you to see it,

hopefully it'll put a smile on your face.

Peter's hoping for yet another headline act

with a family tradition.

Roast lamb complete with triple-cooked potatoes,

Yorkshire puddings and a sparkly perry champagne.

Everybody loves a roast and everyone loves roast lamb,

but is it clever, is it creative? Or is it just a roast dinner?

Classically-trained Chris is feeling the pressure.

His complex dishes have so far been criticised for being unbalanced.

Maybe I've probably overanalyzed and maybe over-thought

too many components for the previous courses but,

you know, it's tough in there.

-Come on then, what are you doing today?

-I'm doing a BLT.

-OK.

So I've got a fantastic West Country short rib of beef.

-So you're using the beef as the "B" in the BLT?

-Exactly, yeah.

And what have we got here?

To carry on that BLT theme, this is beef bacon.

Where does the fun element come? Is it in the name or the presentation?

The presentation is going to be a little bit fun.

The ketchup tomatoes are going to be a bit unique.

Take the skin off them and infuse them with ketchup spices.

So when you eat into it, you'll have the flavours of that ketchup

but it'll be inside a tomato.

OK, and a beer? What are we using beer for?

I'm going to do like some malt onions with the beer,

-harness the whole thing together.

-OK.

Can Chris strike a balanced dish with his twist on a BLT, using

beef instead of pork, accompanied by ketchup tomatoes,

beer-pickled onions,

a cheesy mayonnaise and wild mushroom and tarragon crisps?

It sounds really exciting, it sounds really clever, really out-there

but maybe it's a little bit confusing, all over the place.

He needs to suck it into one and really, really nail this.

Rising star Emily has so far failed to impress Tom

and she needs to deliver a great dish to avoid another bad score.

I've had a really tough couple of days over the starter

and fish course and it'll be really tough.

But if I've got any chance today,

it's going to be to try and claw some points back

and get ahead of Chris.

OK, so, talk me through your dish. What have we got here?

I'm doing a shoot lunch today,

the main part of the meal is the venison rack.

That's being paired with beetroot which will come in various

-different guises.

-We have here some pearl barley.

I'm going to be doing a barley and beetroot risotto.

Where's the fun element going to be?

Hopefully, you'll find the presentation of it

is kind of quirky and it brings a smile to your face

when you get presented with it.

The venison itself is going to be coated in a sloe gin gel,

essentially, but it just gives it a really nice, even-coating flavour.

The gel won't...well, SHOULDN'T split or anything,

-it should hold its shape nicely and just coat round the venison.

-OK.

-Is this a well-rehearsed and practised dish?

-It has been, yes.

-Fantastic.

-But as I've seen, anything can happen.

Emily's hoping to gain some valuable points,

with her version of a shoot lunch, with beetroot risotto,

red Russian kale and venison encased in a delicate sloe gin

and beetroot jelly.

She's got this great venison

that she's going to dip into a warm gel which, technically, is going

to be very difficult but her last couple of courses,

her technical aspect has let her down,

she really needs to nail this today.

I'm looking for some nines and tens scores today.

The main course, this is the showpiece event

at the whole of the banquet.

I should know, I've done two of them.

It's halfway through the competition

and with all three chefs battling for a place

-in front of the judges...

-Whoa!

..the atmosphere in the kitchen is tense.

-Sorry, dude.

-Especially for Chris who's first to serve up.

Chris is looking pretty busy over there, isn't he?

Yes, running around like a headless chicken, big-time.

-What about you, Peter, are you all right?

-Yes, just about all right.

-Bit late again.

-On schedule today?

You're never going to let me live this down, are you?

Earlier in the week, front runner Peter was 15 minutes late

for his starter, earning him a penalty point.

With even more prep needed for his main course,

he could be in danger of getting another one.

There's quite a lot going on.

Heritage carrots, and the roast potatoes

and the two different types of lamb...

Coming through, Chef.

But it's perfectionist Chris who has Tom's attention,

as he busies himself with the fiddly elements of his dish,

including his ketchup tomatoes.

Is that a red nose we're looking at, there?

The Chris Eden fun-loving take on it?

-Well, I hope it's fun and loving, yeah.

-And a microwave?

What are we using a microwave for?

-I've got some tarragon crisps in here.

-OK.

I'll just slightly microwave them so they go nice and crispy.

All these kind of flavours, they'll all work perfectly together.

I think the past couple of courses I've done,

there's been a little bit of a lack of coherence.

I don't want you to question my elements today,

I want you to understand why everything is there

-and that's what food's all about.

-That IS what food's all about.

-Listen, good luck, Chris.

-Cheers, thank you very much.

Trailing behind her Michelin-starred rivals,

rising star Emily is determined to prove her technical skills.

I've got to really, really pull it out the bag today.

I really need to be able to hold my head up at the end of this

and say that I've done the best I can.

She's coating her venison in a unique sloe gin and beetroot jelly,

using a sensitive gelling gum.

Um...so this is a non-reversible setting agent

so it's a little bit unforgiving, it won't allow me to stop and start

-and re-melt it.

-Right, OK.

-It will just lose its form, basically,

which would be a disaster.

If the gel splits in the water bath,

Emily won't have enough time to repeat the process.

Emily's really pushing the boundaries, it's really innovative.

But I hope it's not a step too far which could lead to her downfall.

As well as creating entertaining dishes,

this year the chefs have gone out of their way to demonstrate

how money raised for Comic Relief, helps change lives across the UK.

I went to go see a project that they're doing down in Bristol.

It's helping these teenage kids who are really struggling.

It's amazing what they do.

Re:work is a Comic Relief-funded charity

that re-engages young people who, for various reasons,

have fallen out of mainstream education.

And no throwing potatoes at the windows!

LAUGHTER

Through the organisation, they gain valuable skills

and improve their chances of employment.

Phil Campbell is one of the youth workers who also helps students

with filling out applications and finding work placements.

Get through the basic tasks of the working world

that a lot of people find easy, which they find so hard.

It's just a case of pointing them in the right direction,

making sure their attitude stays on the ground

rather than somewhere where it shouldn't be.

The youths work on community projects,

including gardening and cultivating their own vegetables.

Fresh produce is something Emily's passionate about

and which she's included in her competition menu.

So I'm really excited to see what they're growing

-and meeting the guys.

-Hi, Emily.

-You all right, Phil?

-Yeah, fine. Good to meet you.

This is one of our little gardens we tend to.

As you can see, we've got a few things to be planted out.

-I'll show you what our students are up to.

-That's great.

15-year-old Ashley was introduced to the project

to help build his self-esteem and improve his social skills.

Would you have dropped out of school

-if you hadn't been given something like this...

-Probably, yeah.

-..to be doing at the same time?

-Mmm.

Has this giving you a bit more confidence

-back at school when you are there?

-Yeah.

Jordan has gained vital work experience to help him

find employment during his two years with the project.

Have you always been interested in gardening?

-I've always liked it, no doubt at all.

-Nice to learn more about it.

Exactly. It really is good, very good.

What about when the rain's coming down,

are you still keen to get out here and do your bit?

-Yeah, just get a bit wet, really.

-Yeah.

-Just carry on with it.

-Nothing can stop us, really.

-Good.

'It's giving them a purpose, a focus.

'It's giving them confidence.'

One of the guys saying to me earlier that he would've just dropped out

of school in the last year because of troubles going on, etc.

And coming here to this community project has given him

a boost of confidence and the strength to go back into school

and hold his head up and stay in his education.

So Comic Relief funding you guys is essential to you operating, isn't it?

Absolutely, definitely. I don't think we could continue without it.

With the lads hungry after a hard day's work,

Emily took the chance to taste-test her unique beetroot risotto.

Has anyone actually tried beetroot?

-Yeah.

-I haven't.

-You've never tried any?

-No.

The smell puts me off, to be honest.

-Want to try it?

-I'll go for it.

-Yeah?

-No problem.

-Nice.

-Yeah?

-That's lovely.

-Even Jordan's having a go. Good for you.

-Mm.

-Spot on.

-Thank you very, very much.

You've really encouraged me in this.

Given me a lot of confidence today so thanks, guys.

-Can I have some more?

-Yes, please, finish it off!

What'll your mum say when you come back saying you had beetroot and barley risotto?

I can tell, it's down your T-shirt! LAUGHTER

Inspired by her visit,

Emily decided to raise money for Comic Relief

at her Cotswolds pub,

by mixing a special cocktail using ingredients from her main course.

Beetroot and sloe, that's going to have so many aromas.

It's got that nice little after-dryness of the Prosecco.

-Very easy drinking, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Very easy drinking!

It's just the perfect winter drink. It's just absolutely delicious.

With all sales going to charity, Emily managed to raise £460.

If you've been inspired to do your bit for Comic Relief

and you enjoy eating out,

then an easy way to get involved is through Menu Relief.

Find out more at bbc.co.uk/rednoseday

and learn about other ways to help raise money too.

Back in the kitchen, Emily's using some locally-sourced kale to

go with her venison shoot lunch.

You look really calm today. You don't look half as stressed.

The temperature's rising a bit but we're getting there.

Nerves seem to be keeping in check at the moment.

When I start plating, they'll come back again full-force

cos that'll be the moment of truth.

Having struggled with her nerves so far in the competition,

Emily's confidence is growing,

but she's gambling everything on her water bath venison.

One chef who doesn't look nervous is competition leader, Peter.

Hoping to plate up a headline performance with his take

on a lamb roast, he's busy fluffing his potatoes...

..one spud at a time...

..leaving Tom once more concerned about Peter's time-keeping.

He'll have no excuse if he's late, and if he is,

I won't hold back on giving penalty points out again.

That's not how my mum does roast potatoes, Chief! One at a time?

-One at a time.

-Who's recipe's that?

I just borrowed from my nan and then tweaked a bit.

Really, so this is from your nan,

that you turned into something for this competition?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, massively, yeah.

-All right.

As long as we're all under control.

As he prepares his cheesy mayonnaise,

classically-trained Chris hopes all the elements

of his quirky BLT will come together.

Do you think mayonnaise is the right thing to be serving with a main course?

Um, well, when you think of BLT, you think of mayonnaise

as far as I'm concerned.

The elements have to be there otherwise I could get

-scrutinised for not actually putting the main components together.

-OK.

I'm really scared about this dish now.

Peter's food really worries me.

He seems to have understood the brief perfectly.

Emily, she's really started to get stronger and stronger and stronger.

She certainly means business.

And she's only two points behind me, so now, I'm really worried.

I don't think I ever thought this would be as hard as what it is now.

Like, I'm just... You just watch the clock going down

and you just have to keep on running, keep on going.

Bit more pressure in here, not as easy to relax and have a laugh as in your own kitchen.

When you're in your own kitchen, you're in your own environment,

you know the boys, you'll talk about football and girls

whatever you want and have a good laugh together, don't you? But...

But Peter may have just the thing to lighten the mood.

To accompany his nostalgic roast,

he's combined champagne with South West perry cider.

Right, guys, I know I've been so serious over the last few days.

I want to have a taste and let you guys try my champagne perry.

To the main course, guys.

If you think this is busy, imagine what it'll be like

-in the Royal Albert Hall.

-Yeah, one bridge at a time, I think!

-It's lovely.

-It's very good. It's delicious. Thanks.

Thanks, guys. Let's go.

With plate-up fast approaching, Chris still has a lot to prepare.

How are you doing, boss? You've got a sweat on

running round like a lunatic.

I'm first up, got to go for it

so I don't want to be late, like other people.

-Ooh, was that a little dig? PETER:

-Little bit!

THEY LAUGH

No, I just want to get this dish up on time. Make sure it's perfect.

Massive pressure. After all, it is the main course.

I just want to do you proud, Chef.

The best bit of advice I could give to Chris is chillax-oh, relax-oh.

Take a chill pill, it's all all right,

just cook as well as you can.

Chris puts together the components of his unique BLT.

First, he squeezes his cheesy mayonnaise on to grilled lettuce.

Then tops his slow-cooked beef rib with slices of beef bacon,

beer-pickled onions and finally his red nose ketchup tomatoes

and serves with his wild mushroom and tarragon crisps.

-Phew! And relax!

-Yep.

TOM LAUGHS

Shall we go and see if this tops the bill,

or whether it's a supporting act?

-Happy, Chef?

-Yeah.

-You look like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders.

Well, I've done what I can do now.

Are you happy with the cook of that?

It's lovely and gelatinous.

When you stick your knife into it, it just falls away.

-Oh, look at that.

-Perfect. Tastes great.

-Lovely flavour.

-I like it.

The tarragon and wild mushroom crisps. Yep.

CRUNCH Good crunch on them.

-Yeah, thank goodness.

-Flavour of the tarragon enough in the potato?

Maybe a few more strands of tarragon in there

but everything needs to work together.

The beef was the main show.

The ketchup tomatoes are there to help the beef.

I was expecting a plastic BLT to come out

and instead you get these amazing components

but totally different to what you'd expect.

-I think it'd put a cheeky smile on people's faces.

-Yeah.

Where's the humour, where's the laughs coming from here?

Smiles do come from food as well and if I've executed it perfectly,

then that should bring a smile to your face anyway.

Next, it's Emily and it's the moment of truth for her venison.

Gel intact, she places her beetroot-coated ribs

on a bed of kale. Next, dollops of her sloe gin liquid gel

and horseradish foam,

then adds shotgun cartridges filled with popped beetroot barley,

and a hip flask which she fills with her venison sauce,

finishing with her beetroot and barley risotto.

Wow, that looks amazing, it looks mega.

It looks absolutely great.

I'm going to go and taste it, you guys enjoy that.

What have we got in here?

That's the puffed barley, resembling the shotgun pellets.

-And in the hip flask... I love this.

-That has the venison sauce in it.

OK, get your knife and fork, we'll have one each.

Happy with the way that gel works in your mouth?

Gel's breaking down fine, giving a nice bit of sweetness to it.

-Are you happy with the way it's seasoned?

-Yes, I am.

You're making me very doubtful now, but I am! I am happy with it.

Really clever, isn't it? I love that sloe gin jelly

round the outside of it. Doesn't overpower the venison.

-Just really enhances it.

-Think it's maybe lacking a bit of salt, a touch?

-Maybe a bit of cracked salt on top of it.

-Yeah.

-The risotto, is the pearl barley cooked enough for you?

-For me, yes.

PETER: It could be a touch too much sweetness for the venison.

I just think the venison is really gamy.

-It can take a lot, can't it?

-It can, yes. That's a stonking dish.

So the fun element, how does this relate to Comic Relief?

Most people would be surprised to find the sloe gin jelly.

I find it reminiscent of a red nose itself.

DRUM ROLL CYMBAL CRASH

What Tom now judges it as is up to him

but I feel happy with what I've done today.

CYMBAL CRASH

Last up, young gun Peter, who's hoping to maintain

his pole position with a roast dinner

just how his Nan would serve it.

He even has time to put together mini-flower arrangements.

Then the comedy side of his dish starts to reveal itself.

To plate up, he's using china, inspired by his nan,

serving up potatoes and heritage carrots.

He then tops his broccoli puree with stuffed Yorkshire puddings

and slices of lamb.

Right-oh, guys, there's something I've got to do before I go with this.

With more time up his sleeve, Peter's got a surprise.

CHARLESTON-STYLE MUSIC PLAYS

GIGGLES

I'll get some cutlery.

CHUCKLES

So this is roast dinner at your house normally, Peter?

This is what it's like?

This is roast dinner, what has taken inspiration from my nan,

from my nan's nan and it's just everything what I put into it

so I just hope you guys enjoy.

Take that and the glass.

-You can bring the plate and I'll let you guys enjoy.

-Thanks.

TAPPING NOISE

-Happy with them?

-Yeah.

-Happy with how crispy they are?

Yep, put a lot of love into them.

Lovely crunch on the outside...

-..lovely and fluffy on the inside. Really lamb-y and really good.

-Yeah.

-The cook on that, are you happy?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Nice and soft but really little chew as well.

-Absolute perfection.

-Absolutely delicious.

-Yorkshire pudding OK to you?

-Yes.

-Exactly how I wanted it.

Nice and crispy on the outside and in the inside,

filled with that lovely braised belly of lamb.

If I was going to be absolutely finical, the bigger carrots...

-A bit al dente.

-..I find it hard to break down.

-Is there anything on dish you'd change?

-Um, no, no.

I'm really happy. It made me laugh serving it to you, definitely.

It's like a real show, each of his courses.

-I want to see what he'll do with his dessert course.

-Exactly.

He'll skydive into the building or something!

Is this roast dinner fine dining enough for a banquet?

You know what? I'm going to say yes.

Hopefully, Tom enjoyed the actual dish itself

because, in the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding.

Chris, I'll start with you. BLT.

Absolutely loved the beef.

The ketchup tomatoes, they were really, really tasty.

But...

..I think you got caught up in the title of BLT

being the witty side of your dish...

..rather than actually concentrating on food.

Maybe a little bit more of the beef bacon

and a bit more of the tarragon flavour might have helped to

draw together the two components of the braise and the salad

and made it feel, in your mouth, like it was more of one dish

rather than two separate ones.

OK, Emily. For your shot lunch,

it blew me away. It was a really, really great looking dish.

The venison, wonderfully cooked.

But...

..it did need more seasoning.

Peter, your roast dinner,

properly made me laugh when it came up to the pass

so straight away, I thought it was really, really, really good fun.

I thought the food was great.

Beautiful, loads of flavour going through it.

But...

I think the food lacked just that little bit of ambition.

If you take away all of the props that you had,

a roast dinner is just a roast dinner.

OK, to the scores.

Chris...

..for your BLT...

..I am scoring you...

..eight out of 10.

Emily, for shot lunch...

..I'm scoring you...

..nine out of 10.

Peter, for your roast dinner...

..I'm scoring you...

..eight out of 10.

Chefs, it's really close. There's a lot of pressure on the next one.

-Good luck, guys.

-Thanks, Chef.

-Fair play, my love.

-Thanks.

-Fair play.

-I'm absolutely shocked.

Gone right down to the wire, hasn't it? Big time.

So, with one course to go, Peter remains on top with 24 points,

Chris is holding on to second with 21,

but Emily is snapping at his heels with 20 points on the board.

I was totally blown away to hear that I got a nine.

I got a nine! Yay!

I just got to go into my dessert now and keep pushing on the scores.

'All of a sudden now, Emily is creeping back into this.'

I've got to deliver. If I don't deliver, I could be going home.

Tomorrow, it's desserts and someone IS going home.

There's only one point between them two

and it'll be tough to see who can actually end up at the end.

Chris pulls out all the stops, but can he deliver?

These peaches have to be perfect,

otherwise I don't have a dish and at the moment,

I'm really worried about them.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd