South West Fish Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu,

three of the South West's top chefs,

ambitious newcomer, Josh Eggleton...

Feeling the pressure for this course.

..experienced heavyweight, Dominic Chapman...

I mean, it's telling a story. It really is.

..and returning contender, Emily Watkins...

Fingers crossed.

..are fighting it out for the chance

to thank our heroic World War II veterans

at an honorary banquet commemorating

the 70th anniversary of D-Day

at London's magnificent St Paul's.

Yesterday, Emily faced a crushing defeat,

I'm going to give you a five.

at the hands of her Michelin-starred rivals.

Sort out the pickles and this could be nudging onto a ten.

-Well done.

-Well done.

Today, the battle is on for the fish course...

Trying to put us off, Emily?

I just thought I'd warm you up a bit.

..and returning chef Emily can't afford to fail.

I think if you stayed a little bit further behind me

for a little bit longer.

I hope not, but we'll see.

But will her nerves get the better of her again?

It's going to be quite a challenge for me to try

and get any points back at this stage.

You two are quite far ahead of me.

I just can't risk anything not the perfect.

Do you need a hand with anything?

Calming my nerves.

This year the chefs are paying tribute to the soldiers

who put their lives on the line during D-Day 70 years ago.

They've been challenged to produce 21st-century dishes

that evoke the spirit of wartime Britain

and to tell a story on a plate.

You happy with all of that?

I think this dish nails the brief 100 percent.

Travelling as far as the beaches of Normandy to research their menus.

I'm looking at a memorial for the 47th Royal Marine Commando.

That makes it very, very real. Makes it very real.

Judging the South West chefs this week

is former starter course champion,

two Michelin-starred Sat Bains.

Today's the fish course. I'm looking for perfection.

I think the veterans at the banquet deserve the best.

So, that's what I'm looking for.

So, good day yesterday?

Terrible day yesterday, for me,

but new day, new start.

I've just got to put absolutely everything into it

and really, really cook my very best today.

I'm not looking forward to the fish course,

but I'm just going to go in there, give it my all

and make sure everything I do is perfect.

I'm going to stay true to what I believe in

and that is trying to cook beautiful food.

And that's what I'm going to stick with today.

First up is determined newcomer Josh Eggleton.

He was praised for hitting the brief on taste

and presentation with his starter,

scoring an impressive eight points,

but has pared down his props today.

With the fish course, I'm a little bit concerned because I feel it

just lacks a little bit of theatre compared to my other courses.

I could lose a few points on that maybe.

Josh, how we doing?

-Very good. Thank you.

-How was yesterday?

It was good. Enjoyable.

-Yeah?

-Really good.

-Please tell me what the dish is.

My dishes called Operation Overlord.

-OK and why is that?

-Because that was the name of the operation that went

across the Channel on D-Day.

So, I've got a nice piece of brill here.

What I'm going to do with that is fillet it down, skin it

and square it off. So, that I've got square fillet.

How is that part of the D-Day landing?

It's going to represent a beach as such

and the shape of the landing crafts were rectangles.

I just want that kind of in the middle of the plate.

Looks like it's hitting the beach.

I'm going to grill that with some seaweed.

And what we doing with caulie?

Two forms, cauliflower puree on the bottom of the plate

and then some pickled cauliflower as well for a bit of acidity.

And what else have we got here?

So, the cockles are going to go into a seaweed butter sauce.

The mussels, I'm going to breadcrumb them.

-So, I've got a bit of texture on the plate.

-OK.

I'm going to take the mussel juice, add a bit of cream

and set that with my agar here

and put that back into the mussel shell.

-So, I've got a bit of heat resistant gel there.

-OK.

I can put the deep-fried mussel back on top.

Is there a risk it could still melt?

Yeah, absolutely.

OK. Well, good luck, Chef.

Josh's fish. He's going to cut it into little oblongs

to make it look like a landing craft.

Will anyone know? Will anyone get it? I don't.

Next up is Michelin star Dominic Chapman.

He's attempting to hit the brief with old-fashioned dishes

dedicated to the different landing beaches used by the British

to invade on D-Day.

Like Josh, he scored an honourable eight yesterday,

but came under fire for not telling a story on a plate.

For my starter, there was a loss in translation between the brief

and the food I was putting on the plate.

Erm, so, I hope that's not going to happen again

because I'm dedicating my fish course to another beach.

-Right, Chief. How are we doing?

-Morning, Chef. How you doing?

-You OK?

-Yes, good. Thank you.

So what's the name of your dish?

-I'm doing crimped cod with oyster sauce.

-What's crimped cod?

Crimped cod is basically an old English cooking technique.

You roll the cod and then you poach it.

I've got a beautiful piece of cod.

I'm then going to make a lovely sauce or stock from the cockles

and mussels, add the stock to my sauce.

Obviously, add the oyster juice to the sauce as well.

A little bit of bacon, a little bit of cucumber in the sauce

and then finished with samphire.

So, from my comments yesterday, do you think that this one

has the correlation with D-Day and this dish?

Again, best of British.

Looking at my old cookbooks from the war years...

It really should sing of the sea.

Sing of the Normandy beaches.

Sing of the West country beaches.

That's my focus of this dish.

So, Dominic's crimped cod, oyster sauce.

Again, I'm finding it very difficult to see the correlation.

Has he just chosen an old dish from back in the day that he thinks

that people in wartime were eating?

He's got a great talent,

but I'm just hoping that he's not missing the brief again.

Last up is returning contender, Emily Watkins.

Yesterday, history was repeated

when, like last year ,she scored a low five for her starter.

I knew my starter wasn't my strongest course.

I was a little bit disappointed by my score.

I've got to make sure that every element is perfect today.

I've got to... There's no room for any error at all.

Hey, Emily. How are you feeling today?

-Got to carry on.

-You have, yeah.

-I'll do my best. So...

What's the dish you've got here? What's it called?

So, Fight Them On The Beaches.

And again, it's kind of carrying on my wartime story,

-but this time over on the beaches in Normandy.

-Yep.

So, the main part of the dish is going to be lovely grilled scallops.

They're massive, aren't they?

They are big. They are kind of the main part of the dish.

There's a variety of different seaweeds I'm using.

There's the sea lettuce which I'm going to be caramelizing

and the red dulse which is used to season the smoke cockle broth.

And the smoke part?

So, there's the smoky flavour from flambeing them open

and then I'm going to clarify them with some of

the smoke cockle meat just to make sure

that flavour goes right back into it.

Talk me through the presentation.

Presentation. Well, I've got some of the army mess tins

which they would have used out there on the beaches

alongside that there's the military flask,

which has got your broth in

and you've even got a spork to eat it with.

A good old spoon, knife and fork combination.

On the side, you'll find there's little tobacco tin

which has got your dehydrated nori, which is used to season

and garnish the dish.

So, again, bar the scallop, it's very similar dishes again.

I'm really looking to give high scores out, as you know.

And I really want you to do it well. Good luck!

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Emily's dish of smoked cockle broth is quite a risky one.

Smoke can overpower a dish.

So, I really hope she's got this one nailed

because she really needs a good score today.

Second-timer Emily knows it's do or die today

if she wants to be in with a chance of cooking at the D-Day banquet.

It's going to be quite a challenge for me

to try and get any points back at this stage.

Erm, you two are quite far ahead of me.

How you guys feeling?

I've got to admit I'm feeling the pressure for this course.

I want to do really, really well in this course, you know.

I don't want to lose the lead to Josh and, you know,

Emily with the greatest amount of respect, I'd love it

if you stayed a little bit further behind me for a little bit longer.

I hope not, but we'll see what happens.

Her confidence may have taken a knock yesterday,

but she's determined to come back fighting.

Whoa!

With a Normandy inspired beach scene of scallops and smoked cockles

that'll either make or break her.

Trying to put us off, Emily?

I thought I'd warm you up a bit.

It's hot enough in here anyway.

I definitely feel a bit stronger in this...in the fish course,

but, ultimately, it depends on what Sat thinks about it.

So, we'll have to wait and see.

-Emily, how are we getting on?

-All right. Thanks, Chef.

And how are you feeling today? You confident?

Yeah, I was until you came along a minute ago.

-A smoke gun?

-Yeah.

-This is for...

It's actually for presentation that.

I'm doing my smoke cockle broth.

I'm pouring the broth into a flask

and then I'm going to fill the flask with smoke on top of it.

Do you think there is any danger of it being overpowering

because it's notorious for getting the balance right of smoking guns?

-Erm, well, I've found that it brings out the smokiness flavour.

-OK.

Fingers crossed, eh?

I'm worried about the smoke gun that Emily is using.

Is it going to be too strong? Will it do anything to the sauce?

She can't afford to make any mistakes today.

Emily's not the only one taking a risk today.

In the starter around, Emily and Josh cooked very similar dishes,

but it was Josh who came out on top for flavour and presentation.

Like Emily, Josh is also creating a beach with brill

and seaweed butter, but yesterday's confidence has turned to nerves.

So, what are you doing, Josh, presentation wise?

The plate is supposed to look like a beach.

So, I've got a bit of sea water.

I've got some wash and I've got the sand.

So, it looks like the brill has, kind of, just hit the beach.

A bit like a landing craft.

So, you've got an edible beach basically?

-Yeah. Absolutely!

-I've got a very non-edible beach.

So, I really hope no-one, kind of, gets inspired by yours,

then tries to tuck into mine.

I've seen some of your presentation so, I think...

I think you might be edging back.

Presentation isn't everything though. It's about the food.

-It's all about flavour, isn't it?

-It's what it tastes like.

First, he's going to cut his fish into the shape of a boat,

which, you know could be a bit of a gimmick. I don't know.

But, for me, a fish dish should be natural, you know. Clean flavours.

You know, I don't want to put my fish dish on a beach.

Experienced heavyweight, Dominic is once again

letting his ingredients do the talking,

with his crimped cod, an old-fashioned cooking technique

that involves rolling then poaching his fish,

which Sat is sceptical about.

So, has this got a correlation with D-Day, with the war?

100 percent. These recipes are from the war.

1940s Britain recipes.

You know, they celebrate British food, erm, which is what I love.

This is our heritage and I love it!

Dominic is just as passionate about getting the chance

to cook for the D-Day war veterans.

It's actually a real honour to be given the opportunity

-to cook for these guys, isn't it? You know?

-Yeah, absolutely.

These veterans that fought so hard for us in the war

and it really makes you think about it.

It's quite special.

To get inspiration for his World War II menu,

Dominic travelled to Port-en-Bessin in Normandy,

one of the many French towns liberated by

British forces shortly after D-Day,

where he met up with local guide, Aurore Lecollier,

to find out more about the momentous battle that took place here.

I'd like to just here a little bit about Port-en-Bessin

and what actually happened.

Port-en-Bessin was liberated by the 47th Royal Marine Commandos.

It was vital for the Allied Forces

because it was the junction between two important landing beaches

which were Gold Beach on that side,

Omaha beach on that side.

They had to walk for 12 miles into the countryside

and attack Port-en-Bessin from the rear.

Local resident Robert Lemanissier remembers first hearing

about the imminent attack from a passing German soldier.

HE SPEAKS IN FRENCH

He said, "Why are you rushing and hiding like that?

"Maybe tomorrow 'The Tommy' will be here."

How did you feel when the Allied Troops liberated?

HE SPEAKS IN FRENCH

But liberating Port-en-Bessin came at a cost,

as many brave soldiers were killed there that day

not to mention on D-Day itself.

Standing here looking at this memorial and coming to Normandy

and looking at this coastline, it makes it very, very real.

It makes it very real. And it's actually quite moving.

Which is why Dominic decided to dedicate each of

his dishes to the different landing beaches

that saw British troops arrive, fight and sometimes fall

for our freedom 70 years ago.

My menu tells a story.

It's dedicated to the different forces

that landed at the different beaches.

So, Sword, Juno and Gold. The British beaches.

I now want to go back to the UK and cook the most fantastic dinner

and get to that final banquet and

give these veterans something they can truly enjoy

and celebrate this fantastic achievement.

Like his starter course, Dominic is planning

to serve his crimped cod on another commemorative board.

A tribute Sat didn't feel married

with the food on the plate yesterday.

This board is dedicated to Gold Beach.

OK. And that's where you went when you went to Normandy?

Yes, that's where I went.

So, do you think Sat's going to get it now or do you think

he's going to, kind of, feel that you are not listening to his advice?

I hope he's going to get it. I mean, it's telling a story. It really is.

Dom isn't the only one who's worried about his presentation.

Ambitious first timer Josh is serving deep-fried mussels

with brill and seaweed butter on a delicate mussel jelly

that could melt when the hot mussels are placed on top.

Getting the jelly, the mussel jelly, right

is really, really important and if I don't get it right,

well, it'll look stupid, really.

The mussels on Josh's fish dish I think is very risky.

You've got a gel which is set.

Then you're adding some very hot mussels that have been deep-fried.

Very high risk. Something that I wouldn't attempt.

After a confident start, second timer Emily appears to be

having a problem with the caramelized seaweed

for her Normandy inspired scallop and cockle dish.

I've stumbled with my caramelized sea lettuce.

For some reason, it was too sweet. So, I've just re-done it.

And then it...like it got caught

and so I've redone it a third time.

I don't know why I'm missing this up today. It's probably nerves a bit.

I've seen you doing seaweed for the last 20 minutes.

Is everything OK?

Well, I'm just a little bit caught up today in trying

to get things actually spot on. Fingers crossed.

I see Emily is quite stressed. You can see it.

I think she's got around 50 minutes left.

I hope it doesn't become a downward spiral.

Luckily for Emily, Josh's edible beach is first to the pass today.

He's presenting his brill and seaweed Operation Overlord

on a simple blue and white plate.

I am worried a little bit that Sat won't get the picture

I'm trying to paint with the food.

And having seen Emily's elaborate presentation complete

with reproduction World War II flask, mess tin and tobacco tin,

he's starting to really feel the pressure.

With Emily, I think she's really raised the bar for this course.

She's really kicked it up a notch with a big presentation

and the theatricalness.

That worries me a little bit because, for me,

I've kind of reduced it for this course a little bit.

I'm letting the food sing through.

So, I might become a little bit unstuck.

With veteran Sat watching closely, Josh puts his rectangular

brill fillets under the grill

and deep fries his breadcrumbed mussels.

He starts his plate with cauliflower puree

and tops with his brill brushed with seaweed butter,

followed by pickled cauliflower and sea vegetables.

Next, cockles and shrimp and seaweed butter sauce.

Wow! That is beautiful!

Finally, the moment of truth for Josh's mussel jelly.

Will it melt when topped with the hot deep-fried mussels?

-You happy with that?

-Yeah, I'm happy.

Guys what do you think?

-He's an artist.

-Yes, lovely.

What are you going to say in a minute?

Let's go and have a taste.

So, with the mussels was it how you wanted it?

The jelly was set fine.

It hasn't melted. And it just comes out nicely on that.

If anything it set a little too firm, but it's lovely.

-It dissolves nicely on the tongue, though, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

Do you think the fish is cooked well enough?

Yeah, I think so. I didn't want to pan-fry the fish.

I wanted to put it under the grill just a light cooking.

I really like the, erm, seaweed butter.

It's a delicious plate of food. But does it blow your mind?

Do you stand back and go,

"That's the best plate of food I've ever eaten!"?

How do you think this fits the brief?

This, for me, fits the brief

because I want it to represent a landing beach.

I can't really see World War II in there.

From my point of view,

they'd be delighted with a beautiful plate of food.

What would you give yourself for this?

I think it's a tough one, so, a six, something like that.

So, how many out of ten?

I think it's an absolutely delicious plate of food,

but just because of the brief, I think it's an eight.

I would agree with you. I would say and eight. Yeah.

-How you doing? How was it?

-Yeah, it was good.

-All right, yeah.

Yeah, it was OK. Thank you.

What was all that worry about with you?

Good to be worried. Definitely.

Returning contender Emily's scallop beach scene is up next.

She starts with extra-large scallops,

placing them on the griddle.

Those scallops are massive.

Before finishing in the oven.

She then fills reproduction World War II flasks

with her smoked cockle broth trapping more smoke in the top.

Emily, how's it going?

All right. Thanks, Chef. It's the crucial final moments, isn't it?

Make or break time. I'm going to keep my head down if you don't mind.

Next, she places dehydrated seaweed tobacco in tins

and sea vegetables and decorative shells in mess tins.

Do you need a hand with anything?

Calming my nerves.

She adds braised morels and morel cream.

Last details going on.

And finally, her scallops with sand, pebbles and seaweed

completing Emily's tribute to the D-Day landings.

Here you go, Chef.

So, what is the title of this dish, Emily?

This dish is called Fight Them On The Beaches.

-Confident?

-No. Not yet.

Erm, there's a lot of components on this dish

and a lot of them were needing to be done right at the last minute.

Think it's worthy of our war veterans?

I think it's a bit of fun. I think, erm,

-it might take them back a bit.

-Give it a taste?

Let's go!

So, how would you eat this?

OK, so, take the flask out of there.

So, just pour it straight onto the dish?

Yeah, just pour it straight in.

So, do you like the smoke inside of the flask?

I'm not a huge smoke fan, to be honest with you.

I hate all that sort of stuff.

-It's dehydrated nori.

-OK.

-And what do we do with this?

-Just a little bit of seasoning, basically,

on to the dish to finish it off.

It's all the seaweeds, which have seasoned it so far.

Oh, that's tasty! That's really tasty.

It's lovely.

So, this is the seaweed that you weren't quite happy with, originally?

That's caramelized lettuce yeah.

Do you think it's right now?

I'm happy with it.

-Think it works, doesn't it?

-Yeah, it's good.

Do you think that scallop is big enough for a fish course?

I think in some ways it might have been nicer

to do two or three smaller scallops.

-Under or overcooked?

-It slightly under.

That scallop is hum-ding-a-ling good. Really, really good.

Yeah, it's lovely.

So, what do you think to the morel cream?

There's a tiny bit of grittiness still in there, I'm finding.

And I'm really disappointed in that.

I think the morel cream gets a bit lost if I'm honest.

It's just kind of dissolving...

Yeah, and it's making the broth go dirty.

Do you think you've done enough to bring you back?

I'm not that hopeful, to be honest.

There's a few things that I'm a little bit disappointed in.

I think she's come back fighting. Big time.

She could definitely be regaining a few points on this one.

-Are you worried?

-Yeah, of course I am.

-How you doing?

-How did it go?

Well, same things as yesterday have slightly knocked me.

-Slightly lacking in finesse.

-I disagree.

-Do you?

-It was lovely. I think you've really kicked it up a notch.

There's a few little details I felt...

There's always details. Always details.

But it's the details which make a dish, isn't it?

Last to plate up is experienced heavyweight Dominic

with his crimped cod that has been rolled and then poached.

He's neck and neck with Josh on the scoreboard.

Dom, you're looking very calm. I don't like it.

Dom's playing it to cool.

He's always playing it cool. He's the picture of confidence.

I've got me fish in the water bath. Once they get out of the water bath

then it's rock 'n' roll.

Dominic finishes his oyster sauce with cream and fresh oyster juice.

Warms through his cockles and mussels

and fries the crimped cod in a pan.

Are you feeling confident now, Dom?

-I never feel confident.

-That's a lie.

Dominic then puts his cod into the oven for one final blast,

and takes a blowtorch to his cucumber.

-I've never seen that before.

-Cooking my cucumber.

Is that a World War II ingredient?

Yeah, big time.

Let's go. Let's go.

He finally gets his cod out of the oven

before roping rival Josh in to help at the last minute.

You're not fraternising there, Josh, with the enemy?

Nope. I'm helping him out. Keep your enemy closer.

With time almost up, he starts his plate with oyster sauce,

samphire, charred cucumber and oysters.

Then finishes with his crimped cod,

a garlic and bacon crumb crust and chives.

Thank you very much. So, Gold...

-Dedicated to gold.

-So, it's a beach?

-It's a beach.

Do you think this dish fits the brief and honours our veterans?

100 percent. Cod from the English Channel.

Mussels from the English Channel. Oysters from the English Channel.

-Bang on.

-You two worried?

Always got to be worried.

OK. So, let's go and taste it, Dom.

Be honest now. Has crimping made any difference to that cod?

Could have got away without crimping,

but that would have been no nod to the veterans.

There would have been no nod to the British dish of old.

The cooking on that is just so perfect, isn't it?

Yeah.

Do you think it's the right size for a fish course?

If I did it again,

I'd cut the fish slightly smaller.

As a part of a four course menu,

it might need to be cut down in size for it to go any further.

Do you like the garlic crumb?

Yeah, I like the garlic crumb. It's something that I use quite a lot.

I think the garlic crumb is, kind of, overpowering everything a bit.

There's quite a lot going on in the plate, isn't there?

Yeah. Definitely.

Do you think this dish tells a story of D-Day?

I think this dish shouts very loudly

about the ingredients.

So, do you think this is Dom's finest hour or do you think

he's let himself down a little bit with that?

I don't think it's his finest.

I think he might need to do a little bit more.

If you had to give yourself a score out of 10, what would it be?

I think that's an unfair question because I love this dish

and if I was judging it, I'd be disappointed with less than eight.

What would you give it out of 10.

Based on the board and does it fit the brief,

I'm going to give it a seven.

If I could do half marks, I'm going to go for 7 and a half.

-How'd you get on?

-God knows.

-How are you feeling?

-All right.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

I like it, but... You?

-Lovely.

-Quite liked it over there,

though, but I've got a quite strong garlic effect on my breath.

Honestly, I'm not sure on this one at all.

I felt like I could have done a better job.

I feel I could have done a lot better.

That's all of us, then.

How's everyone doing?

-Good, thanks.

-Good, thank you.

Look like you are really feeling the pressure today.

ALL: Yes.

I'm going to start with you, Josh.

Your Operation Overlord of brill with cauliflower puree.

The fish was perfectly cooked.

The mussel jelly really worked.

I loved it.

The sea veg was beautifully cooked. It still had some bite.

But...

..what this dish lacked, for me, was a story on the plate.

I didn't get the presentation.

I don't think any guest at the banquet,

if you put that in front of them,

would have got that was something to do with D-Day.

This lost you points.

Dom...

..for your Crimped Cod With Oyster Sauce.

The mussels were delicious.

The oysters were beautifully cooked.

Blowtorching the cucumber was very clever.

Gave it a little bit of charred flavour.

But...

..with the cod, the crimping, to me, adds nothing.

The fish was a fraction overcooked.

There was a grit in one of the cockles I had.

And again, I can't see the link.

Just writing the name of the beach on a board,

then putting a fish dish on, I don't think is enough.

Emily...

..for your Fight Them On The Beaches

of grilled scallop and smoked cockle broth.

Presentation with the sand around the outside of the dish needs work.

It can come off the plate.

It either needs to be stuck down,

use a bigger board...

It needs to be more practical.

I know you're really worried about the scallop being underdone as well.

But...

..for me, the scallop was spot on.

It was perfectly cooked, opaque in the middle and still warm.

I loved the way you seasoned the dish with nothing but seaweed.

There was a hint of smoke, which I thought was just enough.

It takes a lot of courage to just to know when's enough.

But I think it would the a real treat for the diners

-and it really hit the brief.

-Thank you.

So, to the scores.

Josh, for your Operation Overlord...

-..I'm giving you a six.

-Thank you.

Dom, for your Crimped Cod With Oyster Sauce...

..I'm going to give you a six.

Emily, for your Fight Them On The Beaches...

-..I'm giving you an eight.

-Thank you, Chef.

So, Emily fantastic! You're back in the race.

Thank you very much, Chef.

-Well done, guys.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Brilliant.

With two courses down, Emily is just one point behind

her Michelin-starred rivals

Domenic and Josh who remain neck and neck.

I'm really pleased with an eight for a fish course.

Really, really pleased.

-What a day!

-Nailed it. Told you.

I know now restaurant dishes definitely don't cut it.

You need to have a bit of theatre with that.

So, I'm going to up my game for the rest of the week.

I need to change.

That's tonight's thoughts.

I'm disappointed, but I'll take the criticism on board

and see if I can get back on track tomorrow.

Tomorrow, it's the main course.

What's going to make them better than mine?

These hands.

And Emily's determined to repeat today's success,

I really love this main course.

but has she bitten off more than she can chew?

I'm shaking too much.

BLEEP