North West Judging Great British Menu

It's been an intense week for

three of the North West's best chefs,

as ambitious newcomer Mark Ellis...

I'm up to my eyeballs, here!

..and Jason Atherton's protege, James Durrant...

Nerve-racking!

Went up against returning contender, Mary Ellen McTague.

I want to make sure that everything's perfect.

Their reward - to cook at a banquet commemorating

the 70th anniversary of D-Day

at London's iconic St Paul's Cathedral.

Yesterday's dessert course was a close-fought battle

between Mark and Mary Ellen.

-What, a veg for dessert?

-That's the whole point.

But veteran Daniel Clifford sent Mark home.

Absolutely devastated.

Today Mary Ellen and James will go head-to-head...

-Glove's off today.

-Yeah, OK.

..cooking all four courses again.

-We're both pretty busy here, aren't we?

-Yes, it's quite tense.

The judges are back expecting their finest hour on a plate.

The dinner at the end of this is for some of the veterans of D-Day.

We've got to get this right.

To make sure the dishes tell stories evoking wartime memories

there's a fourth judge - George Batts, who risked his life on D-Day.

Here we are, 70 years later, eating the best from the best.

It's an absolute privilege to be here.

Their food must be delicious.

I never want to see this pudding again in my life.

This is one of the best dishes I've ever eaten!

Only one chef can go through to the finals.

And the winner is...

Returning chef, Mary Ellen, has been struggling all week to score highly.

You are a healthy bit ahead on points,

but that doesn't matter now.

What the judges say could be completely different from Daniel.

Yep. I'll get my head down. And good luck with it.

-Yeah. And you.

-Brilliant.

-Let's go.

Although first-timer James has led the way so far,

he, too, has had his low points.

I'm back to square one.

Nerves are racing, and I've really got to focus today -

make sure I keep it in the high mark.

But it's second-timer Mary Ellen

who has the most improvements to make to her menu,

if she wants to sail past the judges this time.

It would be pretty horrible to go home today again.

Second year running.

I wouldn't be happy with that, at all.

Judges Prue Leith, Matthew Fort

and Oliver Peyton are analysing the chefs' menus.

North West's Mary Ellen, it's good to see her back again.

What I really like about her menu is it has a sense of history to it.

But James will give her a run for her money,

because he is a Jason Atherton protege.

Well, knowing the North West,

it will be a full frontal assault on the taste buds.

-It's Friday, you've been here before.

-Yeah. Gloves off today.

Yeah, OK.

Today, Daniel's scores are wiped clean,

as the judges will mark each dish individually

putting the highest scoring chef through to the finals.

-Hi, chefs!

-Hello.

-Hello.

Mary Ellen, who are Bill and Vera?

They're my husband's grandparents.

Bill is a veteran - he was on HMS Wensleydale on D-Day -

and Vera was making boots for soldiers.

And they're the big inspiration for the whole menu.

James, have you got any family snaps with you?

Yeah, well, it's my wife's grandad, actually.

-He was one of the first on the beaches.

-Did he survive?

Yes, he did, until a few years back.

I can tell that you both know what an important day this is.

But I really don't want to see anything less than 9s or 10s

because Matthew gets very grumpy.

So, good luck. We'll see you later. Thank you.

Thank you.

Both chefs need to get on with cooking their starters.

-How do you feel about that, then? Judges here?

-Good, actually.

-Bit nerve racking, though, isn't it? Expecting nines and tens?

-Yeah.

James is first up.

He scored a strong eight in the week

with his modern take on a D-Day soldier's ration - called SPAM -

with spiced pork, allium - as in leeks and onions -

and molluscs - as in scallops.

With a poem on the side.

Pretty busy here, aren't we?

-Yeah, I'm feeling the pressure, to be fair.

-Me, too. Me, too.

-Got to be all right today, hasn't it?

-Got to be, yes.

Their food will also be judged by a banquet guest of honour -

today it's 88-year-old war veteran George Batts.

-Welcome, George!

-Thank you very much indeed.

And this is your seat.

Thank you very much.

George, you were there on D-Day?

Yes. I was in the Royal Engineers.

We got on the beach,

the ramp went down,

and we just ran like mad.

And, er, believe me, you were scared.

And you looked upon it that... you were going.

-How old were you at the time, George?

-I was 18.

What a handsome young man you were!

Why, thank you, kind sir!

The brief has been to get the chefs to honour the veterans of D-Day

and to cook basically the finest meal of their lives.

I'm very much looking forward to it, as well.

James begins his D-Day inspired starter with leek puree,

then adds his spiced pork balls.

How's it feel, serving up the first dish?

It's nerve-racking.

-Confit leek...

-Daniel mentioned it needed a bit more acidity, so...

I put a few more pickled onions on there than I did on the first day.

..and finishes the plate with pork vinaigrette and garnish.

OK, thank you. Take it away.

Fingers crossed.

That is brilliant!

-Do you recognise the box?

-Yes!

It does bring back memories. Hah!

There's a little poem in here.

George, I think you should read it.

Now Jackson had his acorns

And Grant his precious rye

Teddy has his poisoned beef

Worse you couldn't buy

The doughboy had his hard tack without the navy jam

But armies on their stomach move

And this one moves on spam

Horrible feeling, isn't it?

How you've come back and done it again, I don't know.

-You're a very brave lady.

-Brave or stupid.

-MATTHEW:

-That pig's head is just soft and fibrous and gentle and mellow.

It's the first time I've ever had pig's head.

-I've missed something, haven't I?

-You have!

I feel a bit funny about this dish, because I think the cooking's good,

but I'm not too sure what part the scallop is playing here.

I disagree with you, Oliver. I think the mild sweetness of the pork,

and the deeper sweetness of the scallop

-is a very happy combination.

-Well, I like it - I don't love it.

Well, I'm trying not to gobble it all down.

This is absolutely delicious!

It certainly tastes a lot better than the original spam!

Up next is Mary Ellen's Dig For Victory Salad with snails,

inspired by the wartime campaign

to encourage people to grow their own veg.

It also includes a sour milk cheese

and Britain's most hated bread, the National Loaf.

You're sticking with tearing the National Loaf up and frying it?

I am, this is definitely the best way to make it a bit more edible.

Mary Ellen researched wartime recipes and ingredients

but Daniel thought that diners would struggle to understand her dish,

scoring it a six.

I've got these now, so they've got a little Dig For Victory sign.

Yes, they're nice.

And then on the back, an explanation of the National Loaf

so hopefully it's all going to be a bit clearer what it is all about.

You're starting to worry me now.

She starts her slate with her controversial National Loaf,

then sour milk cheese...

It just tastes of milk, essentially.

..baby yellow beetroot,

baby red beetroot...

-How's them snails then today?

-They've turned out well.

..braised snails...

-Nearly there?

-Yes, very nearly, very close.

-Yeah?

BLEEP!

..and finally salad cream.

-OK.

-Are you happy?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

Oh!

That is both very pretty and very unusual.

Dig For Victory is one of the most iconic statements of the war for me.

I think she's done a good job here trying to evoke that spirit.

Everybody was growing something.

-Do you think you've done enough?

-I don't know.

You've got Dig For Victory on one side

and we've got this recipe for the National Loaf on the other.

Contained all the wheat grain, including the husks

and resulted in a heavy loaf with a gritty texture.

Doesn't sound too appetising!

But in this form I think it's absolutely delicious.

I think the combinations are interesting.

The only thing I don't like on this dish is the cheese.

For me it's not as much of a pleasure to eat as James's first course.

I reckon the judges are going to be pretty comfortable with eating

the snails, how do you feel the veteran is going to feel out there?

-I think fine.

-My grandad wouldn't even touch garlic.

Being a little bit facetious with the snails, let's face it,

that's every gardener's hate!

MATTHEW LAUGHS

-Fish course up next.

-Yep.

-Wasn't a great scorer for any of us, was it?

-No.

Both chefs are doing a new take on fish and chips,

a favourite wartime treat.

Food was short and it was just the one thing

that was available that was a nice kind of pick me up.

James's Ultimate Fish & Chips is made up of curried monkfish,

scampi snack coated cod cheeks and celeriac chips.

Daniel marked it down for being too salty

and not living up to its title.

I've listened to what Daniel had to say.

I've changed the presentation slightly.

I have watched my seasoning.

Not sure if they'll get the curry, it is quite a northern thing,

-isn't it? Curry sauce with your fish and chips.

-Yep.

He starts his plate with cod cheeks on newspaper inspired by D-Day.

Next it's celeriac chips...

I didn't want it too heavy, I mean this is an early part of the meal,

you don't want to start overloading people with potatoes at this stage.

I do!

..mushy peas,

curried monkfish

and, finally, tartar sauce.

OK, can you serve them with the monkfish nearest to the judge, please?

I feel a vague sense of disappointment.

What I like is that the fish and chips newspaper,

it's about Eisenhower and anxiety about the weather

because I think that D-Day was delayed...

Yes. It was. It should have been on the fifth

but the weather was bad and we went on the sixth.

I'm happy, I'm happy. The cooking is right again.

I'm just hoping they've got different palates to Daniel, really.

Gosh, I really don't like this.

It's all a bit poor, really.

I think the curry powder around this monkfish is actually fighting

with the monkfish, the celeriac chips, I'm thinking, so what?

-Why not use a potato chip?

-THEY LAUGH

The best thing is the scraps which are utterly delicious,

crunchy and everything that the chips are not.

I think it's disappointing.

-George?

-It's not the type of dish I'd go mad about.

OLIVER LAUGHS

-How's your fish today?

-Loads better. Loads better.

I had a nightmare with it the other day.

Mary Ellen's serving megrim sole with potato chips and black peas,

a dish inspired by her husband's grandmother Vera's favourite meal,

fish supper.

In the week the execution let her down badly and she scored a four.

-That was your lowest score, wasn't it?

-Yeah, it was horrible.

It all went wrong with the batter, it didn't cook enough,

and it didn't look good at all.

Let's just not talk about it any more. It was a nightmare.

Her megrim sole starts the plate...

-Are you happy with that batter?

-Yes.

..then pots of black pea puree

and technical vinegar jelly scraps.

Twice cooked chips and a new addition of pickled egg puree.

It's egg yolk and a gherkin pickle

for that classic chip shop tartare sauce flavour.

On the side she's serving iced white tea.

-Happy?

-Happier.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

More newspapers!

-George, do you have any memories of fish and chips?

-Yeah.

It was a special treat and it would always be wrapped in newspaper.

It would always be too hot to eat

and you always ate it and burnt yourself.

THEY LAUGH

-Proper chips!

-Yeah.

We've got some more scraps here. Mmm, the best bit.

-Do you know, I still think it's my weakest.

-Yeah?

-I know it is.

Megrim, let me remind you, it was actually one of the fish

that was in most plentiful supply during the war.

The fish I enjoyed, I think it was nice and, funnily enough,

the black peas, I like them. I really do.

I think this is excellently executed and has a bit of thought behind it.

It's sweet tea with fish and chips,

I think it's a pretty plain dish in actual fact.

There's a lot of beautiful things to admire about this dish

but it's not exciting enough.

She's gone and researched the family history and D-Day

and I really understand that and I appreciate that but, you know,

that does not make a winning dish alone.

-45 minutes.

-I know!

-BLEEP!

At the halfway point,

while the chefs are busy with their main courses,

the judges are considering their scores.

I thought the standard was good.

I've given an eight, top end,

and I've given a five at the bottom end.

I've had a very mixed morning. I think I've got them neck and neck.

They are level pegging at the moment and I would like to see

the next two courses, on both sides, being absolutely terrific.

-Did the timer go off on that?

-Don't know.

-They all right?

-No, they're not.

Mary Ellen's had a disaster with her dumplings.

No-one needs to see those, just pretend it never happened.

She's serving a two-part dish,

telling her husband's grandfather Bill's story

who took part in the D-Day landings,

of corned beef and ship's biscuit he would have eaten at sea

and a pot mess with beef and veg

he'd have enjoyed to celebrate a safe return to harbour.

Daniel scored it an eight earlier in the week.

This was a really important course for me.

Not only was it my highest scoring one,

but this is the one I named after Bill as well, you know?

He was ferrying troops across the Channel.

He could have been the one that ferried Grandad Ron over there.

He could! That's a strange thought, isn't it?

Daniel thought Mary Ellen's main hit the brief,

evoking the spirit of D-Day,

something fourth judge, George...

-Afternoon.

-How do you do?

..knows about from personal experience.

I landed on D-Day

and I know you'll love it,

the last meal I had before landing was a complete tin

of corned beef in that hand and a piece of bread about that thick

-in that hand and I still love corned beef.

-Yeah?

That doesn't mean that you can serve up a corned beef sandwich for me!

THEY LAUGH

-Unless it's got pickle!

-Yeah.

Now it's turned into a joke but at the time it was serious

because you thought it was your last minute, as it was for a lot of them.

For me it's just completely unimaginable.

We're the lucky ones and now, here we are 70 years later,

eating the best, from the best. It's an absolute privilege to be here.

Thank you so much, it's such a pleasure to meet you.

Yes, it is, lovely.

It's neck and neck so it all depends on

-what you throw at us in the next hour.

-Yeah.

Give us a kiss.

You don't get one.

Unlucky.

-All the best.

-Thank you.

George is about to be reminded of his potential last meal sooner

than he thinks as Mary Ellen is ready to serve

the first dish of her two-part main course.

Corned beef and ships biscuits

with a rum ration beef consomme on the side.

-I'm getting quite nervous now.

-Yeah?

He's just described your dish there, as his favourite ever food.

That is true. I love him!

Mary Ellen has a special message for the judges

from her husband's grandfather, Bill.

'We took part in the D-Day landings.

'Our main job was to escort the American battleship.

'One thing that always sticks in my memory,

'we was always wet and cold.'

I think that must have been Bill,

talking about his experiences on D-Day.

Nice corned beef. You know, it takes me back to when I landed.

Do you think George will be happy in there with

the flavours of that corned beef?

It probably won't taste exactly like he remembers

-but hopefully he'll like it for what it is.

-Yes.

I adore it.

And there's more to come as Mary Ellen is ready to serve

the second part of her dish.

She starts her pot mess tin with kale,

then adds beef sirloin,

turnip,

mushrooms

and her rescued dumplings.

-The second batch of dumplings, they look a lot better.

-Yeah, they are.

She finishes with jus.

OK, so like that, with the handle to the right.

-God!

-I am so relieved that's done.

Well, this must be Bill's pot mess.

"Emergency rations",

that's what they would have eaten on the ships on D-Day

and this is what they would have had when they came back to celebrate.

The narrative sense of each of these dishes is extremely strong.

The beef is absolutely delicious.

-And the kidney's delicious.

-Yes, the kidney's very nice.

The dumplings are a bit sort of weird, aren't they?

They're delicious. I think it's really great.

What I think sets it off is that little jus that combines

all the flavours really well together.

Means a lot to you, that one, doesn't it?

-It does, and even more after meeting George as well.

-Yes.

Fingers crossed.

-George, what do you think?

-I think it's marvellous.

If this is what they had in the Navy mess,

next time I'm joining the Navy!

THEY LAUGH

-Can you see this at the banquet?

-Yes, I can.

Mary Ellen's about to get a run for her money

as James's main course was the highest scoring dish of the week.

-This is the dish that got you a 10 from Daniel?

-Mm-hm.

Do you think you're going to get a 10 today?

Fingers crossed it's still up there.

He's doing veal stew with beans on toast,

a sharing dish that needed tweaks on its presentation.

-Did you make any changes?

-No, I just titled it Blitz Spirit.

So the sharing aspect's going to become...

Going to make it a bit more obvious, I think.

He starts by ladling up veal stew of veal cheeks and vegetables...

..then assembles his new take on beans on toast -

first with beans in veal stock and veal sweetbreads...

..then green beans,

mushrooms,

veal loin

and finally breadcrumbs fried in veal stock and butter.

It's one to share between two.

HE SIGHS

Well done.

Well, I think that's a feast fit for a king.

I mean, it looks amazing.

I think it fits in very well with wartime because of the sharing,

typified the Normandy landings,

where we all had to get on with one another

and I think it's marvellous that somebody does a dish like this.

The veal itself I think's a triumph.

I don't think I've ever tasted anything like that cheek.

All the veg is perfectly cooked.

That little use of breadcrumb is an absolute masterpiece.

To me it is nothing short of miraculous.

You got a 10 for that the other day.

Do you think that was as good, or better?

I think it was the same so, yes,

fingers crossed that they've all got the same palate as Daniel, really.

Yes!

Or not! As the case may be.

When I was looking at it I was thinking,

"Are these things going to go together?"

But actually when you put them on the plate they really do.

They merge together as a really beautiful dish.

This is one of the best dishes I've ever eaten.

It's phenomenal.

But I feel sorry for the previous one because that was beautiful

and very good and now it's been...

-This tops it.

-Yes.

But it's the total score that counts and Mary Ellen could still win

if her dessert goes down a treat.

Times like this I feel like doing the sign of the cross.

It's based on how vegetables were used as sweeteners during the war.

I'm hoping that the reference to root vegetables in desserts

is something that strikes a chord.

She's serving a beetroot chocolate brownie and parsnip Scotch egg

with a bee pollen spherification centre and a beetroot marshmallow.

Daniel scored it an average five

and she's changed it according to his feedback.

There's more butter and toffee and things going on the plate,

-a bigger piece of marshmallow.

-I really liked that marshmallow,

-it was a great texture.

-Please let it be OK!

She starts her plate with carrot toffee and hazelnut butter...

-I can see that relief starting to appear.

-No, no, no, not yet.

..before adding her beetroot chocolate brownie Scotch egg

with its hazelnut egg white and bee pollen centre

and finally an unusual beetroot marshmallow.

I think everything's fine on there.

You know, I think it'll...

taste like it's supposed to taste.

Wow!

Well, I wasn't expecting that!

Wow, it looks great!

Beetroot as a pudding!

I think they're either going to love it or hate it, that's what I think.

That's fairly not nice.

The pollen honey middle

is medicinally disgusting.

I disagree with you, I like it.

This is a challenging pudding, I agree with you,

but I think it's really interesting!

The elements are rather delicious

and what she's done is taken ingredients that would have been

available to a cook in 1944/45

and linked those to the contemporary world.

The only trouble is that this does not taste nice.

What about you, George? Do you like it?

No.

With mixed reviews for Mary Ellen's dessert,

James has every chance of beating her with his take

on sticky toffee pudding

with mini toffee apples and cinnamon ice cream.

-How are you feeling, James?

-It's been a tough day, you know that.

-Yeah.

He starts his plate with apple puree and walnut paste balls.

Going into that judges' chamber is worse than standing there

waiting for the results.

I'm not going, I spent a fortune on a stunt double.

Have you? SHE LAUGHS

Next, toffee apples,

dots of toffee sauce

and finally his sticky toffee pudding...

Is the ice cream better today?

..topped with a quenelle of cinnamon ice cream.

Quickly, before the ice cream melts.

-OK?

-No, I'm not happy with that.

The ice cream?

Yes, I shouldn't have put it on the top, I don't know why I did.

Well, this looks more like it.

Well, I'm afraid there's been a bit of an ice cream avalanche.

I think there's a lot of technique gone in here.

I don't think there's one outstanding thing on the plate.

I like the ice cream and I particularly like

that little walnut ball.

Happy with the flavours, I'm happy with the cake,

the cake was really moist.

The best thing is these little crunchy toffee apples

and everything else is OK, except the cake which is horrible.

Well, I don't care if I ever see this pudding again in my life.

If you say sticky toffee pudding, what this pudding isn't is toffee.

I have got to agree with you about the toffee pudding

and with all these around,

strangely enough it reminded me of a bowling alley!

MATTHEW LAUGHS

After I had the main course I thought, "It's a slam dunk, he's done it,"

but I think his pudding has really let him down.

How are you feeling?

-Physically and emotionally quite drained.

-Yes.

I think James's cooking was unbeatable.

I think Mary Ellen's interpretation of the brief was unbeatable.

Both of them, to my mind, deserve some recognition.

-I just want to know now.

-Yes, I want to know.

But I do think James's main course was absolutely an astounding dish.

Yes, we all loved that.

-Good luck.

-And you.

Well, chefs, welcome to the judges' chamber.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Mary Ellen, you have been here before,

-you came here last year and you did not get through to the finals.

-No.

Do you think you've done enough this year?

I really hope so, really, really hope so. I don't know.

James, your mentor, Jason Anderson, got two dishes at the banquet,

do you think you've done enough to fill his boots?

I'm not sure about filling his boots

but I'd like to hope I can get through to the finals.

Well, I can tell you that the winner is...

..James.

Congratulations.

Well, I think I can say for us all

that it was the main course what done it.

I gave it a 10.

-So did I.

-So did I.

So did I.

I'm blown away by that, I really am.

Just stormingly good flavours.

But I honestly think that you need to do something about the fish dish.

-Curry round monkfish is not great. OLIVER:

-Change it.

-I would say change it.

-Yes.

Mary Ellen, first of all, how do you feel?

Really disappointed but not surprised.

You've done a really great job,

this was not a whitewash by any stretch of the imagination.

-OK, thank you.

-I would like to thank both of you.

I'm delighted that you've worked so hard on it.

It's a heck of an honour.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Bye.

-Thank you.

-Well done, you.

-Thank you.

-I got through.

-'You're joking? Oh, that's fantastic!'

It's been tough in the kitchen

and it's a tough decision to have to make and to have to take.

Yes, I'm a bit gutted, really.

'Daddy got through, what do you say to Daddy?'

'Well done, Daddy! Well done.'

-Cheers. Well done.

-Cheers. Fantastic.

Four tens.

I think that I'm still kind of...

Not sunk in yet but, yes, I'm over the moon.