South West Judging Great British Menu

It's crunch time on Great British Menu for the south west Chefs.

This week's been a battle of the newcomers.

Classical chef, Chris Eden,

innovative young gun, Peter Sanchez Iglesias

and rising star Emily Watkins, striving for the chance to cook

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

With just one point between Emily and Chris,

yesterday's dessert course was a fight for survival.

Got to keep on getting good points coming back, don't you?

While Peter held on to the top spot...

Highest score across the week...

..Emily leapfrogged from last place.

-You're through to the judges.

-Thanks, Chef.

And it was Chris who left the competition.

Today Emily and Peter will cook all four of their courses again,

as they lock horns for the final showdown.

You actually feeling nervous, then, Peter?

Backstage, the judges are expecting a performance on a plate.

Come on, Prue, chop, chop, new blood.

But to make sure the food is full of fun of well as flavour,

there'll be a fourth comedy judge.

This week, it's Fast Show comedian

and Comic Relief supporter Simon Day.

I think you want, as a comedian, to hear, "Why don't you do this?"

ALL LAUGH

The chefs are under pressure

and must deliver gastronomic greatness, with a witty twist.

Thumb over the top.

Whizz, whizz, whizz...

-Wow!

-It tastes like bliss.

It's going to go right down to the wire.

Only one chef can represent the south west at the national finals.

The winner is...

It's the first time in front of the judges for both Emily

and her Michelin-starred rival Peter, and the atmosphere is tense.

You've been a real dark horse coming up.

I was lucky, things came together for me.

Nerves calmed down a bit, but I tell you what, they're fully back

-in force, the nerves now.

-Good luck to you.

-Yeah, good luck.

Remaining in the bottom spot until the dessert round, Emily managed

to claw her way up the scoreboard to get through to the judges today.

It still feels totally unreal that I'm here. In shock, really, still.

Rival Peter knows that Emily is one to watch.

Have to make sure I'm on the ball today.

I think Emily's going to be on top form.

Well, they're definitely keeping us guessing with those titles.

"Shoot lunch", could be BANG on!

And this year, judges Prue Leith, Oliver Peyton

and Matthew Fort are getting a sneak preview of their menus.

Come on, Prue, chop, chop. Good new chefs, new blood.

Although new to the competition,

Emily's cooking is not unfamiliar to Prue.

Emily's restaurant is about four miles from my house.

She's a really good cook. There's a question mark about her puddings,

but maybe she's going to surprise me.

In the kitchen, Emily and Peter get straight on with their starters,

but they're about to be caught off guard.

Hello, chefs, how's it going?

PRUE: Both looking so serious.

Come on, guys, where's the fun?

You know, we love a bit of new blood.

PRUE: I was very pleased

to see your pudding had done so well, with top.

Oh, good, good.

Anyway, good luck, guys, and we'll see you on the other side.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-See you later.

-Good luck.

-She's been to my restaurant.

-Yeah?

It makes it even doubly worrying.

You know what she likes, then?

I just know that she lives fairly close to me.

She doesn't come that often.

Well, I don't think I'm any the wiser after that little kitchen jaunt.

What about you?

Peter looks, I must say, pretty cocky in the picture,

but I thought he looked rather less so in the kitchen.

Are you actually feeling nervous, then, Peter?

I am a little bit, I'm not going to lie.

-It's tough, isn't it, trying to get this out.

-Tough?

I think that's an understatement.

I've never put myself in such a position in my life.

Earlier on in the week,

nerves and time pressure got the better of Emily,

and for her culinary take on a childhood literary classic,

Dr Seuss's green eggs and ham.

She scored a disappointing five

after failing on key technical elements,

including her pork liver parfait, which didn't set in time.

How's your pork mousse going? Happy with that?

Yeah.

There's added pressure this year,

as the chefs have to impress a fourth judge.

Today, it's comedian Simon Day.

Hello, Simon, how are you? Welcome. Come and sit down.

Thank you very much.

So a bit of wit and humour in the menu is what we're looking for today.

Which I'm sure can go wrong as well.

Eight courses. Are you up for that?

I love eating, yes. I don't need to be told to eat.

In the kitchen, Emily is finishing off her starter.

I was dreading being first,

-but I'm quite glad to get it out of the way.

-Fair play to you, my love.

She makes her mock egg by topping fried bread with minced pork fat

and adds the pea sphere wrapped in lardo.

Next, she squeezes apple jelly

into the centre of her pork liver parfait

and serves it with sourdough soldiers, fresh ham and peas.

Awesome. It's looking really, really good. Happy?

Happier.

Happier.

First one out of the way.

A fried egg with a green yolk?

Dr Seuss.

-Think they'll get it?

-Were they fans of Green Eggs And Ham?

-I don't know. We'll have to see.

-It's dead funny.

I think it looks great. I like the green egg.

It looks like a half-cooked egg,

which is presumably what it's meant to look like.

Let's give it a chance.

I don't quite know that I'm going to like it.

That parfait, did you get it spot-on?

It's holding as it should. It's not as intense as it was the other day.

I think the whipped liver mousse is very nice.

I think it could be a little bit thicker.

The pea puree that has been in the spherified ball,

the egg yolk,

is bitter. Do you know, I think this is a fair old disaster.

I think for once, Prue, you're absolutely incorrect.

I'm wrong, am I?

I think it's really funny.

That's a beautiful piece of fried bread underneath that.

Anything that has fried bread has got to be good.

The fried bread is actually quite fatty.

Which I know it's supposed to be, but...

Excuse me, what's wrong with that?

He's not a northerner, is he?

NORTHERN ACCENT: It's absolutely fantastic, this.

It's your deconstructed egg and bacon sarnie.

I'm still worried about the dish. Very worried.

I'm not embarrassed about it, like I was the other day.

And the toast is boring.

Oh, come on, it's very funny! It's nice.

There's a few missing loops here,

but this is good. It's fun.

Are you laughing?

No. It takes me a lot more than a green egg to make me laugh, though.

Innovative young chef Peter is up next

with his nostalgic picnic starter

with coronation chicken terrine, quiche Lorraine mousse

and a warm, runny scotch egg,

A dish that scored an impressive nine earlier in the week.

But he did incur a penalty point for being late to the pass.

How are you doing on that today?

Just about there.

-Yeah?

-I'm going to find it tough again,

because it's a big dish to do.

He finishes his potato

and truffle salad, served in quirky bar-coded boxes.

He adds his hot scotch eggs, quiche Lorraine mousse

and coronation chicken terrines,

the weakest element of his dish, according to Tom Kerridge.

One and a half minutes, Peter, over the time.

-Are you there?

-Two minutes and I'll be coming to the pass.

Everything goes into a picnic basket.

It's better this time. It's way, way, way better.

And the effect is completed with fake turf

and atmospheric picnic noises.

One, two, three.

BIRDSONG

This'll blow these judges away.

Oh, look!

ALL EXCLAIM

PRUE: A bit of Astroturf.

BIRDSONG

DUCKS QUACK

You don't think there are live creatures inside this, do you?

GEESE HONK

There's some Canada geese flying south in mine.

Ahhh!

MATTHEW: I feel an overwhelming sense of disappointment.

That was exactly what I wanted. The right temperatures. Everything was perfect.

Wow, that's really an incredible flavour, that.

This bears absolutely no resemblance

to any picnic I've ever eaten in my life.

What about the coronation chicken?

Did you listen to Tom or have you decided to run with it?

You know what?

I was actually really, really happy with that element of the dish.

All the individual parts of this are really great.

I completely disagree.

There is absolutely no connection between these things.

The world's smallest potatoes,

contributing nothing in terms of taste or texture.

The scotch egg is just a boring bog-standard scotch egg

you'd find in any decent pub up and down the country.

If you got scotch eggs like that in every pub, there'd be more people in the pubs.

-They wouldn't be closing down.

-You don't know the pubs Matthew goes to.

-Matthew doesn't frequent the working men's clubs.

-No fruit machines?

Matthew has to send his staff ahead of him first of all

to find out the quality of the scotch eggs.

What matters mostly is, that dish is executed the way I wanted it to be

-and it works and I'm dead happy.

-Excellent.

It's a performance on the plate, it's gastronomy...

I mean, it's got everything.

He's even put the barcode on it. It's brilliant.

I enjoyed the whole thing of it. A childlike wonder.

Next, it's the fish course.

Emily's hoping her use of innovative techniques

with simple flavours will impress the judges.

Her nostalgic take on high tea features cured brown trout,

potato toasts and an unusual deconstructed hollandaise.

Emily, how are you doing for time?

Tight, Peter.

Emily's hoping to improve on the low six she scored for it

earlier in the week, but with plate up fast approaching,

the pressure is starting to show.

Need to get these last elements on the pass.

I don't want to overcook my leeks,

because I was picked up on it before.

She adds the components of her deconstructed hollandaise,

her egg puree and lemon beurre noisette to the tray.

Emily, how's your powder?

I hope it's all right. I've chilled it down a bit,

because I think what happened before, it was made quite quickly

in this warm kitchen, and as a result, it was a little bit claggy.

She adds her braised baby leeks

and quirky fish tins filled with delicately cured brown trout,

along with her potato trout toasts.

It's late!

PRUE: High tea.

MATTHEW: Yeah, in front of the telly. Watching the Great British Menu.

-Are you happy with it, though?

-Yeah, I was happy when it went up,

it was just a bit stressful getting it there.

-It looked brilliant.

-Let's hope they enjoy it.

I think this is a brown trout.

-PRUE: And it is delicious.

-What is this?

Is this salt of some kind?

The problem is, it doesn't come out very well.

Um, the trout, I've just finished it off this time with a little bit more

cooking oil over the top,

just to really kind of knock you back to that sardines in a tin

kind of idea, which it all stemmed from.

-I'm beginning to like this powdery stuff!

-Prue!

Mmm! And the potatoes, I mean, all of those three are very good flavours.

I think they are. It's nice, plain, good, plain cooking.

It's a really simple dish, but there's four people in there

and they're going to have different opinions.

It doesn't taste of very much. I think it's all right. It's not very gastronomic.

-Underwhelming.

-Matthew, when you said it was good, plain food,

did you mean aero-plane food?

ALL LAUGH

Peter's up next with his fish course,

a twist on classic fish and chips featuring oil-poached pollock,

pea puree, tartare sauce and quirky batter scrumps.

He assembles his condiments, tartare sauce, atomisers filled with

malt vinegar, and newspaper cones filled with batter scrumps.

Then he spreads his pea puree onto the plate.

That pea puree does look a lot smoother, doesn't it?

Yeah, this is exactly the way it should have been.

And finally tops with pollock and a garnish of fresh pea shoots.

There we go. Let's go.

Ohhh...

-Well done.

-Thank God for that.

Fish and chips and mushy peas.

But where are the chips?

Oh! I've lost all me balls!

What sort of fish is this?

-Pollock, I think.

-Is it?

-It's quite tasty.

-It's really tasty.

Beautifully cooked fish.

Yeah, the food is delicious. I like the little vinegar spray.

That would help if you were attacked on the way home too.

You could use that on the tube.

I cannot see why you would not want to use such a great fish.

Do you know...I think we've been misled here.

That's not a mushy pea.

Yeah. Simon, what do you reckon?

I think it tastes like broccoli.

Can you get me some more of that pea puree, please?

If it's not peas, then what on earth is he doing?

Few would summon up broccoli

as a remembrance of all things past at the beach.

You're not going to believe it.

That puree what I just used was the one for my main course.

-Broccoli puree?

-That's the problem

-if you go with two purees exactly the same

-BLEEP

-colour.

A guy from London goes to a chip shop up north,

points at the mushy peas and says, "I'll have the guacamole."

ALL LAUGH

Back in the kitchen, Peter's reflecting on his puree disaster.

You all right?

-Oh...

-BLEEP!

I think it's really knocked him for six and it's really put him under

a bit of pressure and he's really thinking hard about it.

Got the next course to get up,

so smash it out and get absolute perfection.

-We need to smash

-BLEEP.

The pressure is on.

-Let's go.

-Let's go.

With two courses down, the judges take stock of the food so far

and discuss their scores.

I've been all over the place.

I mean, I've had a nine and I've had a four.

We're in sevens and eights territory at the moment.

I'm disappointed I'm not allowed to use halves.

Yeah!

I think, actually, Simon, you need to get into the kitchen and go and give

them a bit of coaching on how to focus their performance.

It'd be like the tumbleweed... If I went in as a comedian, saying,

"Why don't you do this?" they'd just go...

LAUGHTER

Hello!

-How's it going?

-Not too bad.

We've had some nice things so far.

We had one thing which everyone hated

and one person really loved.

-Oh, God.

-Hey...

BLEEP!

Sorry!

My hands are sweaty.

What are you making here?

-Just finishing off the lamb.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-I do mean that.

-Yeah, this is pretty much a brown butter.

-I was going to say, it looks really healthy(!)

-Yeah.

-Caramelising it.

-That is incredible.

Well, thanks very much, guys, I'm off. Nice to see you.

-Nice to see you.

-Thanks.

-I won't mention the broccoli.

So that was a bit of a fright. Highs and lows already.

I've got a real feeling that's my port liver parfait.

Well, I put broccoli puree instead of peas, so...

Worries aside, it's time for the main courses.

Peter's up first with his witty take on his nan's Sunday lunch.

Roast lamb complete with quadruple cooked potatoes,

Yorkshire puddings and a glass of sparkling perry champagne.

Tom Kerridge awarded Peter an eight for this course,

but he was topped by Emily, who scored a nine.

Emily's... She seems to be picking up the pace.

She knew she had the high scores on these courses,

so I'll have to watch out

and make sure I push mine that little bit extra.

He serves up his potatoes and heritage carrots

and tops his broccoli puree

with stuffed Yorkshire puddings and slices of lamb.

Just wait until we hear that music.

RAG-TIME MUSIC PLAYS

-We're at Matthew's house.

-Yeah.

Your grandmother, she must be a total legend.

You've dedicated two dishes to her.

She has totally inspired you, has she?

Well, she's the one that created the memories, I suppose,

when I was younger. So yeah, she's a massive influence in my life.

Aren't the plates beautiful, though?

I love this whole thing, I think it's brilliant.

Mmm, yeah, looks great. Takes Oliver back to his childhood in Ireland.

I still like roast potatoes.

It doesn't take me back to my childhood!

Takes me back to last Sunday.

That is genuine 1950s vegetables - severely overcooked.

The broccoli for me is unnecessary.

That is definitely, definitely, definitely broccoli puree.

How did you feel about Tom's comments,

saying it was just a roast dinner if you take away all the presentation?

Truth is that if this came in front of us and there wasn't all the decor,

you'd say, right, it's Sunday lunch - so what?

I just wanted to serve a dish

where I knew everyone would want to eat it.

A good meal for the Jubilee, perhaps,

but for a banquet in 2013...

It is more Jubilee than Comic Relief, isn't it?

I'd rather see the futuristic version of this.

Emily's next to plate up with her high scoring main course.

It should be my strongest part of the menu.

I certainly feel more confident about this dish.

Her novelty version of a shoot lunch features beetroot risotto,

red kale and venison encased in a clever sloe gin and beetroot jelly.

She places her gel-coated venison on a bed of kale.

Adds dollops of her sloe gin liquid gel and horseradish foam,

then shotgun cartridges filled with popped beetroot barley.

-Kind of slightly chucking them to get the pellets coming out.

-Love it.

-You have got technique there.

-Well...

Next, a hip flask filled with venison gravy

and then she spoons on her beetroot and barley risotto.

OK.

Steady, guys.

Three down, one more to go.

Bang-bang!

-Ah!

-Ha-ha!

I think it looks great.

Mmm!

It's interesting, it's like a cover of a Dick Francis book, isn't it?

Venison isn't too strong a game meat that some people might not enjoy it.

The dish is very clever, I love the presentation.

It is a good marriage of flavours.

The flavours are very strong. Rampant.

Rampant! I like the idea of this being a rampant dish.

I'm getting something else on the back of my palate

which is really not helping me at all.

Perhaps the gel that she's put round the edge of it.

The armour plating.

It is BEAUTIFUL.

I've taken Tom's advice totally - I think he was absolutely right

in what he said about the risotto. I have toned that down. It is less sweet now.

There's the potential for having a lot of sweetness in this, and there isn't.

And she's done the colour palate,

the flavour palate and the texture palate.

I mean, she has balanced everything absolutely beautifully.

I just hope that some of the judges, being country folk at heart,

will enjoy the scene.

-Textures change.

-Mmm.

-Get the crunch and the slight toughness of the kale.

I think it's beautifully done and really, really clever.

-It's certainly the most autumnal dish I've ever had.

-Yeah.

This is like a little wander through the countryside, really.

Wonderful.

Pleasure, joy, smiles, happiness in every mouthful.

And this gravy - it may not have any alcohol in it, but ooh!

That is really, really beautiful.

My, that is good, isn't it?

Time for the dessert course.

Peter's last laugh is a witty homage to his nan's apple pie,

complete with custard and cubes of vanilla ice cream,

frozen with liquid nitrogen.

Peter's addition of malic acid to give extra tartness

to his pastry didn't go too well with veteran Tom.

It left a real sour taste in my mouth I found quite offensive.

I'm cutting down on the malic acid,

because these apples are really, really acidic.

Thought about it - now I'm going to do it the way it should be.

He tops his apple pie puree with cooked apple chunks,

adds his chewy cubes of vanilla ice cream,

tops with his crisp pastry lids

sprinkled with malic acid and sugar,

pours his roasted cinnamon and nutmeg mixed with hot water into pots.

And that's all for the aroma, is it?

That's all for the aroma, yep.

So this is the show-stopping treatment we're getting.

Yes, hopefully. Hopefully, hopefully.

Just got to keep ploughing.

For his special aromatic effect,

he pours liquid nitrogen into a flask.

And thankfully, Emily's paying attention.

-Liquid nitrogen.

-Ah.

Peter's apple pie is served with a clever whiff of nostalgia.

My, oh, my, it's Merlin!

LAUGHTER

Smells incredible.

I can really smell the cinnamon and the cloves, formaldehyde...

So you're done.

All finished. BLEEP. I'm quite jealous.

Well, I'm always in favour of a bit of custard and sorcery.

So is your grandmother in the kitchen

with a big thing of liquid nitrogen, then?

-Ha-ha!

-She must be very proud of her boy.

Well...

-Wow!

-This looks fabulous.

Oh, my goodness, there's ice cream inside!

The ice cream, I made sure was colder, so by the time they get it,

hopefully it should still be that ice cream texture inside.

It's not often you hear us so quiet all the time.

I mean, this is a very, very, very fine bit of cooking.

Happy apple.

-I can concur.

-Tastes like bliss.

Matthew's quite a traditionalist, isn't he?

You just made him very happy. He's had a picnic, Sunday roast.

Now he's having his apple pie for afters.

Emily's got it all to do.

I think it's going to go right down to the wire, I really do.

She'll have to pull it completely out of the bag,

because that is one of the best puddings we've ever had.

Next up is Emily.

Once again, she scored one point more than Peter for this dish.

A nostalgic spin on lolly and sweets,

featuring a rhubarb and clotted cream lolly, jelly tots,

milk bottles and a fizzy rhubarb cordial.

Yesterday, Emily's sweets were served in vintage-style tins,

but she's decided to change the presentation.

I don't like that. Right, sorry.

Take that.

-Last minute thing, then, yeah?

-It is a last minute thing. Ah!

Can't get this to work.

Changing your presentation last minute is a real tough thing to do.

Prue Leith's sat there, and that really worries me.

I'm pretty sure she's not convinced by my dessert. I get this feeling.

She pops straws filled with fizzy powder into little

bottles of rhubarb cordial

and serves her rhubarb gel-coated lollies in comedy red noses, amongst

her scattered sweets, rhubarb tuilles and vanilla shortbread.

-That's it, they're going.

-Game over.

-Wow.

-Ooh!

-Smells good.

-Jolly lolly!

-It's a jolly lolly.

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb.

I hope that the judges get

that they're going to put the fizzy into...the sherbet into the drink.

Thumb over top, whizz, whizz, whizz, whizz. Shake it all about.

Wow. Mmm!

Oh, I like it.

I want one of those ice creams.

I just really hope that the judges like it as much as Tom does.

-Mmm!

-Magnifico.

Mmm.

As good a lolly as I've ever had. It's a good pud.

I think it's actually full of very clever ideas -

these little milk bottles and...

PRUE: The shortbread is absolutely delicious.

It looked really lovely - you should be proud.

-Did it look better than yesterday?

-I reckon.

What is small, red and whispers?

I don't know, what is small, red and whispers?

A "hoarse" radish.

They are so unfunny, they become comic.

And I'm actually really grateful for that.

Wait and see.

Cooking complete, all the chefs can do is wait

while the judges consider their final scores.

I got a feeling there are two really talented young chefs

going hammer and tongs.

Some of the cooking was fantastic. I gave each of them a ten at one point.

Emily's tried to impress the judges with her creative

use of classic flavours and experimental techniques,

and she's worked hard to raise a smile in honour of Comic Relief.

A few disasters, too, though.

Yes.

I mean, two very, very fine puddings.

Peter's put a lot of thought into raising a laugh

at the Red Nose Day Banquet, with a nostalgic menu

and fun presentation, designed to play on the senses.

See, I think it's neck and neck.

How is your tummy?

LAUGHTER

Welcome, chefs, to the judges' chamber.

How's it been out there?

It's been really hard. One of the hardest weeks ever.

I'm relieved it's over, to be honest.

I can tell you that we've enjoyed some really amazing cooking today.

In actual fact, we awarded two tens and five nines.

And it was genuinely very, very, very close.

Well, the winner is...

Peter. Well done.

THEY APPLAUD

You look like a relieved man.

Yeah. Nerves. Nerves of... Just doesn't describe.

It's amazing.

Peter, I have to tell you that I really, really enjoyed your pudding.

I thought it was absolutely fantastic. Great bit of work.

I gave it a ten, actually. It was faultless.

I liked the picnic as well. I thought it was great.

Emily, your main course. That venison.

That was an absolute cracker.

Peter, we look forward to seeing you in the national finals.

Emily, listen, I really hope we see you again in another competition.

Thank both of you.

-Thank you.

-See ya!

Peter cooked beautifully.

I'm glad that he'll represent us in the south west if I can't do it.

You know, I felt their tension. They're two young chefs.

Simon, thank you very much for coming along and bearing some of the burden.

Thank YOU very much.

Personally, I didn't find it tough at all.

Just telling my brother that I did it.

Just got to do the final now.

Cheers, my darling. Thanks very much. Pleasure cooking with you.

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