Northern Ireland Starter Great British Menu

Great British Menu is back...

Oh, my God, I'm terrified.

..and the chefs are hoping it will be their finest hour.

There's a lot of love gone into this dish.

..as previous winners...

Chef, I'm here for a reason and I'm here to win.

..past contenders...

To get a dish to this banquet would be an amazing feat.

..and a whole army of talented newcomers...

Come on!

..fight it out for a chance to cook at a glorious banquet marking

the 70th anniversary of D-Day at London's magnificent

St Paul's Cathedral, a bastion of British wartime resilience.

The chefs must produce 21st century dishes worthy of our war heroes.

That last one is the Normandy Medal.

And over the next nine weeks, will experience triumphant victories...

Wow, that's quite extraordinary.

..as well as crushing defeats.

-Are you happy?

-No.

-Oh!

..at the hands of our fearsome former champions.

It wasn't much better than supermarket quality.

Going head-to-head this week for Northern Ireland is

Richard Corrigan's protege, Chris McGowan.

Catch me if you can.

Determined young newcomer, Will Brown.

You don't want to come second in this game, do you?

And last year's finalist, Raymond McArdle,

who's back to regain his crown.

Today is all or nothing.

But, with two new chefs snapping at his heels...

I have a lot to get on with, especially at this stage.

..the heat is on from the start.

-There's no

-BLEEP

-saucepans! Get me a saucepan.

-BLEEP.

You feeling the pressure? Getting the wee shakies?

This June, the nation will commemorate 70 years

since the D-Day landings,

the momentous battle which saw British and Allied forces

storm the beaches of Normandy to help bring an end to World War II.

The chefs have been tasked with creating patriotic dishes

to honour the brave heroes who fought for our freedom...

We were all scared, I think, at the time.

..and have delved into the past to research their menus,

both at home...

I'd like to give him a pat on the back to say,

"God, I didn't realise you did this!"

..and abroad.

It really is the most emotional place to be standing here.

Battling it out today for the chance to cook at the commemorative

D-Day banquet are returning Northern Ireland regional finalist,

Raymond McArdle.

It's good to be back at Great British Menu

and this time I'm going all the way.

Richard Corrigan's protege, London-based Chris McGowan

with 20 years' experience in the capital's finest restaurants.

I want to show these other two guys what I'm made of.

And eager newcomer, Will Brown.

At 26, he's less experienced than his rivals but still out to win.

I'm fresh young blood and I cannot wait to get into the kitchen.

Judging the chefs, as ever,

is one of Great British Menu's uncompromising veterans.

Who is it? Who's it going to be?

This week, it's a two-time champion.

The country's biggest hitter in gastropub gastronomy,

and holder of two Michelin stars, Tom Kerridge.

-Hey.

-Morning, chefs. How are we all?

Nervous? Ready to rock?

-Yeah, ready to go.

-Ready to go. You've been here before, young Ray.

-Yeah.

-And, Chris, you're here representing Richard Corrigan.

Yeah, I want to do Richard proud.

I kind of want to make a mark for myself as well,

-step out of his shadow.

-And you, Will, first time here?

-Yeah.

-The young man full of enthusiasm.

-That's it. I'll do my best, yeah.

Good. Right, guys, I'm looking for some really strong cooking.

Some dishes that will go down in history. Good luck, chaps.

First up, and hoping to steal a march on his fellow chefs,

is last year's finalist, Raymond McArdle.

Right then, Ray. You're confident on your return?

Yeah, I got that close, Tom.

I just got that wee taste and I'm really back to hammer it home,

trying to get to the banquet.

Ray, what's your inspiration behind your whole menu?

Tom, it's the soldiers' memories from wartime in Normandy.

I've done my homework really well on it

and I think I've nailed the brief this year.

-What's the name of this dish?

-Pigeon Post.

Homing pigeons were used from Dover to France,

so I tried to marry French and British ingredients,

so I'm going to confit the legs,

and cook the breast on the bone.

And then some beetroot?

Yeah, I'm doing a couple of different textures of beetroot

and a little tiny flapjack with blackberry sauce on the side

-and then some cream barley.

-Is that a little sweet?

It's got a lot of earthy flavours going on.

-I'm trying to marry earth and sweet.

-One of your strongest dishes?

Yeah, I hope so. I really like this dish.

Just need to get the cooking right.

Raymond's dish, the pigeon, the key thing is balance.

There's a few sweet things going on.

There's a flapjack and pearl barley risotto with clotted cream.

If he doesn't get the right amount of acidity going through that dish

then it could edge towards being a pudding with a pigeon

and that's not what we want to start.

Next up is Chris McGowan, a newcomer aiming to step

out of the shadow of his mentor, Richard Corrigan.

-This is your first time in this kitchen?

-Yeah.

But your boss knows this kitchen very well.

-He's been here once or twice, yeah.

-Big shoes to fill.

-Yeah, well...

What can I say? I don't have an answer for that.

OK, so your dish, talk me through your menu.

-What's the idea of the whole menu?

-It's Government slogans of the time.

-OK, and what is your starter? What's it called?

-Digging For Victory.

-Digging For Victory.

-Digging For Victory.

-Oh, right.

The government asking people to grow their own in their own back garden.

For me, it was all about fantastic beetroots.

We're going to smoke it.

-Smoked beetroot?

-Yeah. We're going to combine rice, tea and sugar.

It's an old hot smoking method.

-And we're going to serve it with mackerel.

-Fish as a starter?

-Is that a bit of a risk?

-Yeah.

Got Richard to the final, so that's my thought process.

And getting those key elements singing?

-It's got to be bang on, absolutely bang on.

-Nowhere to hide.

Sometimes you have to be brave.

Chris' dish, Dig For Victory, for me sounds fantastic. Beetroot, amazing.

It's got mackerel.

The problem is, I've never known anyone dig for mackerel.

The last of today's troops is determined new recruit,

Will Brown, an ambitious young head chef hoping to prove himself

against his experienced competitors.

-What's your dish called?

-It's called Fighting Food.

-Fighting Food?

-Yeah.

It's basically based all around this war veteran I met

and I had a really emotional chat with him

and he told me what it was like back in the day.

-Out of anything he wanted, he wanted jellied ham.

-OK.

And if he wanted jellied ham and he was willing to give

-up his life for us today, then that's good enough for me.

-Good man.

-Talk me through it. What have we got?

-We have this fantastic ham hock.

This is the centre of my dish.

And what are you going to do with the ham hock?

I'm going to braise it and then I'm going to press it.

With regards to the beetroot,

I'll be pickling the golden, the pink, the red.

-Pickling carrots?

-Yes.

-Pickle them all?

-I'm going to pickle half of them, yes.

-And the quail eggs?

With the quail eggs,

I'll be making a Scotch egg to go alongside the ham hock.

It's a classic combination but done, I think, in a modern way.

It sounds like you've got a hell of a lot to do there, chef.

-I've got a hell of a lot to do, yes.

-But young, full of enthusiasm,

-ready to run rings round the old guys, yeah?

-Yes, cannot wait.

Will is cooking Fighting Food.

There's loads going on. Loads of different tastes, different flavours.

If Will gets the Scotch egg wrong, it's the killer to the dish.

I hope he gets this right. I love a Scotch egg.

With cooking under way, London-based Ulster man, Chris,

is quick to assess his rivals and draw battle lines.

You two boys are home-grown.

You work back there, you live back there,

so are you best of mates back home?

-We are, actually.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Northern Ireland is such a small place,

most of the chefs know each other.

This is a different environment, a competition.

He wants to win, I want to win, so friendship goes out the window.

Yeah.

Nothing personal but you don't want to come second in this game, do you?

Raymond is probably my immediate competition.

Obviously he's been here before but I've worked in busy kitchens

all my life and I'm used to adapting and grafting my way through

and I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Returning finalist Raymond already has his pigeon leg into confit

and has roasted his pigeon breast.

Now he's moving on to the beetroot element of his starter.

Having won the Northern Ireland region last year...

Raymond.

..Raymond narrowly missed out on the starter course at the banquet

to Tom Aikens.

I'm feeling a bit nervous today because the pressure is on me

to do well and it's important to get off to a good start.

I think the guys are hunting me down, so this is an important one.

Raymond McArdle is head chef at Restaurant 23

in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland.

OK, Paul, do you want to give me the squash puree?

'Last year I got to finals week. Pipped at the post for the starter.'

But it was my first time in Great British Menu.

Very difficult up against the best in the UK.

He's confident his approach to this year's competition

will see him reign supreme.

I'm really proud to represent Northern Ireland again.

There's a really strong line up with Will and Chris.

The two of them can cook so I think it's going to be a really,

really, really hard fight.

Raymond's done his research on this year's brief,

even travelling to France with his son Ross.

I took my son to Normandy for a week to research the brief.

I like to know what I'm talking about.

And we went to the beaches

and the sense of emotion there is just phenomenal.

Like, Sword Beach where the British came in. I just learned so much.

I think the most moving part was when you go to the military

cemeteries and when you see 10,000 rows of graves.

I mean, the sacrifice for Europe was just incredible.

It was very emotional.

-How we doing, Ray?

-Very good.

-What we got here?

It's beetroot packed in jelly.

-So this has got to get set up, chilled out in time?

-Yeah.

OK, so you're saying that quite nervously there.

Yeah, well, things happen here sometimes, you know.

So how is it going to be presented altogether at the end?

Any nice little quirks or tricks?

I've got a message in the pigeon's claw.

-Just like a carrier pigeon in the wartime?

-Yeah.

-I love that.

I love that idea.

Raymond's not the only chef who's taken the brief to heart this year

and London-based Chris is determined to cook for wartime veterans too.

Your grandfather went through it. My grandfather went through it.

Some of our parents even went through it.

Obviously my grandmother remembers the Blitz in Belfast

and things like this.

You actually realise what they went through

and the sacrifices they made.

It's amazing, really.

To have the opportunity to come here

and cook for war veterans that gave up their life for us

to be here today, what better honour can you get as a chef?

Chris's starter,

inspired by the wartime initiative to encourage growing your own veg,

includes camomile-smoked beetroot and surprisingly, mackerel.

-So your starter's called Digging For Victory?

-Yes.

-Why's it not called Digging For Fish?

-Do you think it's a fish-dominated starter?

Because there's mackerel in there?

For me, beetroot is the main ingredient.

The mackerel is an integral part of the dish,

but it's not the main element in the dish, you know?

SHOUTS OUT COMMANDS

Cooking at the heart of London's world-class restaurant scene,

Northern Ireland-born Chris McGowan serves up dishes

redefining British cuisine as head chef at Corrigan's Mayfair.

I'll take the pasta when you're ready, please.

Chris works under the most successful chef

in Great British Menu history, three-time winner Richard Corrigan.

Slightly nervous, putting myself out there.

I mean, I'm big enough and bad enough to look after myself now.

You're a bit of a... I wouldn't say old hand,

-bit of a leg.

-A seasoned pro.

-Yeah.

I've known Chris for over ten years.

He's probably one of London's finest cooks. There's no question about it.

He's a fantastic individual.

With Richard's experience in the competition,

there was only one person Chris trusted to try out his starter.

I mean, I do hope the judges get this.

I kind of want to go back to growing your own,

and that kind of sustainable process of cooking.

-Just give it a little bit more you! Yeah.

-Yeah.

For me to cook for those veterans at the banquet would be

an absolute honour, and for me to be there would be absolutely amazing,

representing Northern Ireland. It'd be fantastic.

What we got going on here?

I'm going to smoke the beetroot straight after the mackerel.

-On the same smoker?

-No, I've made a separate smoker.

-It's exactly the same.

-Are you under pressure a little bit, chef?

You're working very quickly and you appear to be talking very quickly.

-Well, that's a Northern Irish trait.

-Do everything quickly?

-It's all quick.

-It's all quick.

-It's all quick.

For his starter, determined young newcomer Will

has taken inspiration from the food served to front-line soldiers.

He's preparing his ham hock terrine,

a technical element that needs time to set.

When I spoke to a veteran, I said, what would be your favourite

thing you like to eat before winning a battle, and he said, jellied ham.

It wouldn't have been top of my list.

-He wants jellied ham, that's good enough for me.

-Yeah, fair enough.

26-year-old Will Brown is head chef at the Old Schoolhouse

in County Down, where he cooks British produce with international influences.

To get the menu bang on, I've been reading and researching and speaking

to war veterans, and just basically taking it to the next level.

Although over 15 years younger than his fellow Irish chefs,

Will took charge of the family restaurant just 16 months ago,

having trained in top London kitchens.

Just want to keep improving, keep making the place better,

and keep making the name of this place better.

Beautiful. Absolutely fantastic.

I'm doing this for my mother. There's no two ways around it.

If she hadn't given me this opportunity,

I wouldn't be where I am now.

Two mackerel...

For me to be at the banquet would be unbelievable.

To cook for the veterans, to have the chance to cook with

the top chefs in the UK, what a privilege!

Back in the kitchen, Will is pickling beetroot.

And making quail Scotch eggs to accompany his ham hock terrine.

I've got a lot to do, especially at this stage. I just need to crack on.

-All of this, is all of this yours?

-Well, most of it's mine, yes.

-Have we got any pans left?

-I'm sure we do.

-So your terrine, how's it looking? Is it ready?

-I'm still waiting.

-It's the waiting game for me.

-It's a waiting game.

-If the jelly is not set, you know, it's just going to look a mess.

-Yeah, OK.

-And presentation-wise?

-We'll just see how we get on.

-A little secret.

-A little secret, yeah.

-OK.

Last year's Northern Ireland regional winner Raymond

is first to plate up, and knows he needs a strong start.

He's attempting to marry sweet and savoury flavours in his pigeon

starter of roast and confit pigeon, flapjack and creamed barley.

It's quite tricky to balance the sweet with the vinegars.

That's one of the risk elements, and I just hope I pull it off.

He starts with sweet fig flapjack and savoury beetroot jelly,

topped with finely sliced pickled beetroot.

Followed by clotted cream pearl barley risotto

and his roast pigeon breast.

-There's no

-BLEEP

-saucepans.

Can you get me a saucepan?

Ah, you feeling the pressure?

I want to get off to a good start, you know?

Next, it's his blackberry sauce,

and his confit pigeon leg with a message carried in its claw.

Getting the wee shakies.

Beetroot powder completes the dish.

-Are you happy? Is this your finest day?

-I think it is.

-Shall we go and see what it tastes like? You bring the sauce.

-Yeah.

-I'll bring the beautiful plate.

-Cheers, thank you.

INAUDIBLE

-"Expect a counter-attack."

-OK.

-That was the British moving in.

-Right, OK.

So this is a proper message that would have been sent by the pigeon?

-Yes.

-I like that. I like that touch. It's nice.

Do you think it hits the brief?

It's got the pigeon

and they probably played a big part in the war.

That's a good point, actually. Yeah, they did.

-Pigeon breast here.

-Yeah, cooked on the bone.

-Blackberry sauce.

-And a little bit of this flapjack.

-I think the leg's lovely.

I think the breast is cooked beautifully.

Just maybe a little acidity needed somewhere.

And are you happy with the balance of flavours there?

Yeah, I...given a nice bit of sharpness

and a nice bit of sweetness. I think the pigeon's not too offended.

For me, it's the combination of the sweetness, really.

There's a lot of sweetness on the plate there.

Anything sweeter could be a bit harsher.

What would you give that?

-I would give it a six.

-OK. Yeah, a six, maybe a seven.

-There's a lot of effort, a lot of technique.

-There was, there was.

There's a lot of technique there.

In the kitchen,

Will's decided to reveal the secret weapon for his ham hock starter.

Wow! What's this?

Basically, my idea is to put my ration boxes in this big box,

-pile it up to the front.

-Onto the front line!

Up to the front line, yeah, yeah.

-So, Ray, how'd you get on?

-I think it was OK.

-Yeah?

-You know, did I get the sweet acidity properly for the pigeon? I think I did.

-Yeah. Yeah.

Next to plate up is London-based Chris.

Can I get a piping bag, please?

Hoping to fill the shoes of boss Richard Corrigan,

he can't afford a low score.

His Dig For Victory starter is based on the wartime initiative of growing your own vegetables,

but contains camomile-tea-smoked mackerel.

Chris looks like he's under a wee bit of pressure there. He's a lot to plate up.

It's just about a determined focus now, and a drive, really.

Chris starts his plate with mackerel belly, followed by golden,

red baby and candied beetroots.

-It's time now, Chris.

-Yeah. It's worth waiting for, Will.

Next, his soda bread slices filled with mackerel paste

and camomile tea-soaked mackerel, topped off with a beetroot sauce.

-Almost there?

-Done, chef.

-Right, then, Chris, is it your finest hour?

-I think it's a good dish.

It's all about flavour, for me. You taste it, you tell me.

Come on. Come with me. You boys push on and eat that.

See you in a bit.

Right, then, Chris, this is your dish.

-Do you think it sums up Digging For Victory?

-Yeah, I really do, Tom.

It kind of has that kind of earthy feel to it.

Would I have automatically said, that's D-Day written all over it?

No.

You're happy with the balance of this dish?

Yes, it's of the dish, I think is there, and the flavours

and the combinations, I think work really well, you know?

I think it's quite earthy,

and I think the fish is lost a wee bit in the middle of the beetroot.

And that flavour of the smokiness in that mackerel,

does that come through enough for you?

Come on. Seriously?

The bread doesn't do it for me, you know?

Pickle, do you think it's quite strong, quite sharp?

Well, you could argue that pickled beetroot was a little bit sharp.

On its own, hm.

With everything else, I think it's perfect - otherwise,

it would lose itself, you know?

I would give it an easy seven.

-Are you worried about that dish?

-I respect the dish,

-but I'm not worried about that dish.

-But you just gave it a seven.

-Well, that's cos I'm going to get an eight!

-OK!

I'm all right, yeah, yeah.

Tough in there? Tough...?

Listen, first day, first dish. There's a lot of firsts!

Determined young newcomer Will is last to plate up.

Give us a wee bit of space here.

Out to make his mark and unsettle his more experienced rivals,

his Fighting Food starter of Scotch quail egg and pickled veg

includes a ham hock terrine,

a crucial element that must be perfectly set.

Still got a lot of work to do here.

Happy with his terrine, Will continues with carrot

and various combinations of pickled beetroot.

Next, he tests one of his Scotch quail eggs.

Pleased with the runny yolk,

he places the rest of them in jars, sealing them shut.

Definitely a lot going on, Will.

Well, I'm not sure if there is.

I just really need to wait till the end and see how it tastes,

-cos that's what it's all about - flavours.

-Yeah.

Foraged flowers finish the plate

and it's all sealed for delivery in a ration box.

Wow!

Big box of goodies.

Looks like it's been parachuted in behind enemy lines.

-So, shall I carry the box?

-Yes, please.

-Carefully!

-Yeah, brilliant.

Come on, then. Follow me, let's go and eat it.

-You boys, dig into your rations!

-Yep.

OK, so you've gone all out on a kind of a prop theme here.

You've gone for a showcase in a presentation box.

Do you think it honours the soldiers and the guys on D-Day?

I think it does.

-It's very pretty.

-Yeah.

-You would like to get that at a banquet.

-You would like...

-Everything.

-..the ration box...

-That would be really cool. It's a really nice idea.

-Yes.

So this is all different types of pickled beetroot,

pickled carrots, all to cut through the richness of the terrine.

-That's it.

-And do they do that?

It's a humble dish that represents...

what the soldiers were on back in the day.

I think the ham's pressed well.

Obviously it's better with the longer it gets

-but that's nice and soft. It's nice.

-Yes, yes.

This is the trick, this is the thing -

to see if the egg is still runny. Are you confident about that?

I'm not sure. I'm not sure.

Do you think it's sat in there too long and overcooked?

-I think it's going to be grand.

-I've... Oh, OK.

Oh, it's overcooked inside...

Ooh. It's overcooked here.

-I made a mistake. I put it in this

-BLEEP

-jar

and that's what I think I'll lose points on.

-He's got plenty going on.

-Yes.

-But sometimes...less is more.

-Yeah.

Hi, guys.

-Well, I can honestly say I've never felt like this before.

-Yes.

-Never.

It's only two emotions. You're either really excited or... unhappy but it is nerve-racking.

It's still easier said than done, yeah?

-How are we doing, chaps?

-Good, chef, good.

Ray, I'm going to start off with you and your Pigeon Post.

When the plate arrived to me, I thought perhaps the elements of it,

the dish, could possibly be more main course than starter.

I know you were worried about the balance of flavours

and I was worried about the balance of the flavours.

But you nailed it. It was spot-on.

I thought the flapjack, and a pearl barley risotto,

I thought they were all fantastic.

The pigeon was cooked to perfection.

I loved the message the pigeon was giving. It was a wonderful dish.

-Well done, Ray.

-Thank you.

Chris, your Dig For Victory with mackerel and beetroot.

The elements on the plate, they were all very well considered,

the flavours came through, the chamomile tea was lovely.

But...

..the Dig For Victory title is probably not right for that dish.

Dig For Victory - I'd expect vegetables to be the main focus

in the centre of that dish but the thing that really sang

and was good about the food was fish. And I've not seen many people go

mackerel-fishing with a shovel before.

Will, your Fighting Food with jellied ham terrine and Scotch egg.

You really went for it with the presentation.

The box looked great as it came up.

The terrine was by far the best bit of the dish.

But...

..all the veg had lost their flavour. All I could taste was vinegar.

The Scotch egg I think we all know was a disaster.

For me, it wasn't much better than supermarket quality.

Overall, the cooking on that dish, Will, I'm not sure was up

to the Great British Menu standard of what we're looking for.

So, the scores...

Ray, for your Pigeon Post...

..I'm giving you...

..8 out of 10. Well done.

Thank you.

Chris...

..your Dig For Victory,

I'm giving you...

a 5.

I just can't see it being served on a D-Day banquet.

Will, for your Fighting Food...

I'm giving you...

..a 4.

I think you're trying to do too much.

Refocus, look at the key elements on the dish,

-because there could be some great cooking there.

-Yes.

OK, guys. You've got some catching up to do. See you on the fish course.

Well done. Well done, Ray. Brilliant.

Feeling great after that. I think I really smashed that one.

Gutted, really. If I was being brutally honest. Um, yeah.

It was a hard pill to swallow, that.

There's nothing I can do now. I've just got to push on and look at the next course.

-WILL:

-I've taken a knock. No point dwelling on that. I have to move on.

And I've got to do my best in the fish course.

To be honest, I would've been happy with a 7!

My head's up, their heads are down. It gives you a bit of incentive to push on even more.