South West Judging Great British Menu

It's been an intense week on Great British Menu,

with Michelin-starred newcomers,

ambitious Josh Eggleton

and experienced heavyweight Dominic Chapman,

hoping to storm past returning contender Emily Watkins.

The prize - to cook at a special banquet

commemorating 70 years since D-Day at London's stoic St Paul's,

a bastion of British wartime resilience.

Yesterday's dessert course saw Josh sail through...

-Wow.

-He's done it beautifully.

..but Emily and Dominic draw,

with veteran Sat Bains choosing Emily...

-Congrats, Emily.

-Really?

..to go head-to-head with Josh for the South West.

-Agh! Trying to kill me!

-Competition, isn't it?

Now both chefs must start from scratch.

Those high scores are down to zero today.

Making sure the food is worthy of our war heroes is a fourth judge,

D-Day veteran Ken Sturdy.

What you're doing is really commendable.

I certainly won't forget it.

The chefs must produce 21st century dishes...

The whole thing is extremely accomplished, I love it.

It's pub food!

..and tell a story on a plate...

I doff my hat to this one.

Does it really deliver on the brief?

Just.

..as only one chef can go through to the National Final.

Our winner is...

Aprons on and there's tension in the air.

I know I can cook better than I did this week.

I let nerves get the better of me.

I'm determined to put up more of a fight today.

Well, you need to get through me first.

The judges' chamber is as far as Emily got

in last year's competition.

The winner is...

Peter.

But this time there's a bigger reason

she wants to get to the banquet,

as both of her grandfathers were in the Navy during World War Two.

I know that I can cook better than I've done this week.

So I'm really determined to pull it off.

Ambitious first-timer Josh's menu is inspired by his nan,

who was aged just six when war broke out.

He's been ahead of Emily all week on the scoreboard.

I haven't come this far to be going home today.

I want to be through to the finals.

Both chefs are trying to evoke memories of World War Two

but cook with 21st century panache.

The scary word up there, Matthew, is rations. Rations!

When I saw that my stomach did a double flip.

Today they'll prepare their dishes again

for judges Prue Leith, Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton.

I'm really glad to see Emily back.

She just didn't do herself justice last time.

Well, Josh has a Michelin star and he has a terrific reputation.

But also there seems to be quite a lot of similarity there, you know.

Street party, street party. So are we judging a very similar menu?

But Josh and Emily's similarities ended at the scoreboard.

-Wow, Josh has had an amazing week, two 9s!

-What was Emily doing?

I mean, look at her starter, look at her main.

Obviously Josh's rations were better than we thought.

THEY LAUGH

The judges will be marking each dish individually,

and the highest scoring chef will march through to the finals.

-Hi, everybody.

-Good morning.

Ah, pork scratchings!

Emily, it's good to see you back. You just scraped through.

By the skin of my teeth. I stumbled a lot this week.

-I felt the pressure get to me.

-Today is a new day.

Josh, those beautiful-looking high scores are down to zero today.

Good luck.

Emily and Josh's menus are full of striking similarities

which will be up for direct comparison by the judges.

You've been here before, cooking for the judges. How was it?

It was totally different, really.

They've all got different opinions

so they might have a totally different view on what we're doing.

Yeah, it's going to be tough.

They're well into cooking their starters,

and are both doing their own takes on a popular wartime staple.

Tinned luncheon meat.

Just going to serve a nice enamel plate with it

so it's a bit easier to eat.

So now we've got not only similar ingredients

-but also the same plates?

-Yeah! I'm afraid so.

First up is Josh with his 'Rations on the Home Front,'

a modern spin on wartime eating,

featuring deep-friend pig's head fritters and chilled pea soup.

Veteran Sat Bains thought it hit the brief, and awarded Josh an eight.

But he found the pickled vegetables in the dish too dry.

What about the pickles? Are you changing that this time?

I'm doing the same pickles, but I'm adding some liquid.

That should work well. That's even more nerve-racking, eh?

Once again, this year there's a fourth judge

to make sure the dishes tell a story on the plate.

Today, it's 94-year-old veteran Ken Sturdy -

one of the heroes who landed in Normandy on D-Day.

-Ken, welcome to Great British Menu Judges Chamber.

-Lovely to see you.

Pleased to meet you.

I can't believe that you were actually at the D-Day landings.

Tell you the truth, 70 years back, it's hard for me

to imagine that too.

But I was there, I landed on D-Day on Sword Beach.

A picture of myself with my buddy.

Our role was to make a link between bombarding the ships

and the troops ashore.

Were you frightened?

You'd be a liar if you said you weren't,

because landing on a beach is something

that is quite unlike what sailors do,

but you never want to let your mates down.

It's a pleasure to have you here. A real pleasure.

What we're looking for is the best food from the South West.

It should really celebrate what you achieved -

great food for great people.

Very good.

Josh fills jars with his pickled vegetables

in sherry pickling liquor.

He adds tins, home-made butter

and mini seeded bread loaves to his boards.

Do you think you're going to be pulling off a ten today?

I'm hoping for a high score, but I don't know.

Next, chilled pea soup topped with puffed pork crackling

and crispy pancetta, deep-fried pig's head fritters,

and finally his wartime ration box presentation,

along with new enamel serving plates.

Oh, goodness.

-I'm looking forward to this.

-Me too.

Do you reckon the judges are going to get the story?

I think so, with this one. I think the story comes across.

-Wow.

-Crikey.

My goodness. This is nothing like we ever encountered in Normandy.

Happy?

It can always be better.

I think my pig's head could have been a bit more crispier.

-This is the most delicious fritter.

-This is an ingenious looking loaf.

Healthy, I suspect.

During the war years, one had a ration of butter.

I think about that much had to last a week.

So here goes for a week's ration.

I really love the contrast in flavours. I love the pickles.

Do you reckon they're going to agree on the chilled soup?

Yeah, I think so.

A chilled soup's not that far out there these days, I don't think.

To me, pea soup should at least be warm. This is quite cold.

Otherwise, all the items are delicious.

Does it actually add up to a dish

or does it add up to a whole series of bites?

What matters is how it tastes. It's absolutely perfect.

What is special is about brawn, what is special about pea soup?

It's pub food.

Returning contender Emily is up next with her take on luncheon meat -

pork belly rillettes, apple jelly, pork crackling

and toffee crab apples.

A dish that veteran Sat Bains scored five points after finding it

underwhelming with some technical errors,

including overly-sticky toffee apples.

Bit chewy?

You had some issues with your toffee apples.

I was in such a fluster I hadn't checked the temperature

properly, so I'm just being quite thorough about it today.

I'm trying to be a bit calmer, and definitely trying to concentrate

more on one thing at a time rather than 16 things at one time.

They are definitely cracking.

Emily tops her pork belly rillettes with apple jelly

and ground pork crackling,

something she lost points for earlier in the week.

I'm going to put some whole pieces of crackling on mine as well.

It's giving Matthew his pork scratchings.

You're getting me worried, now.

Next, dollops of mustard, pickles and pieces of pork crackling.

I'm sweating like crazy, I tell you.

Potato bread and butter go on her plates,

and finally toffee crab apples.

-Brawn in the can.

-Oh, not brawn again.

In the armed forces, all plates were tin plates.

You didn't have fine bone china, so to serve it on a tin plate,

I thought, "That's perfect."

-Look at this little thing. That's a toffee crab apple.

-Beautiful thing.

Isn't it beautiful?

I was really happy with the toffee apples. But it is humid here.

-It's the humidity that's getting them...

-I was waiting for that but.

Mm. Yummy. How can you not love a toffee apple?

That brawn is so delicious.

I love this jelly on top, which has been diced up. It's lovely.

Pork scratching.

So all our similar elements,

it's going to be interesting to see which one the judges like best.

Particularly the bread - two totally different ones,

supposedly from the same era.

Yeah, I guess mine's a bit more of a modern take though.

I decided to keep it a bit more real on my bread,

using the potato, which they were using at the time.

This potato bread is as good a potato bread as I've ever had.

It is absolutely delicious.

Well, I agree with you on the bread too.

That first course was rather like old navy biscuits.

I had a job to crunch into it. This bread is delicious.

She's absolutely delivered with this.

Next, it's the fish course, which was Josh's lowest

and Emily's highest scoring dish of the week.

Once again, it's the battle of the beaches.

Josh is up first with his seashore scene - Operation Overlord.

A homage to the allied invasion of Europe.

Featuring grilled brill, breaded mussels, cauliflower puree

and seaweed butter sauce.

Josh was marked down for this dish for failing to tell

a story on a plate, so today he's made some changes,

starting with special placemats.

There's a map of the D-positions on D-Day.

-This map shows it very well, doesn't it?

-Doesn't it?

Josh starts his plate with waves of cauliflower puree,

followed by brill grilled in seaweed butter,

intended to represent a Normandy landing craft.

Then pickled cauliflower and sea vegetables.

Do you think they'll see a painting on it?

I want them to see a beach, not a painting.

Next, cockles and shrimp in seaweed butter sauce,

and finally mussel jelly and breaded mussels.

-Do you think you're telling a story today.

-Yeah, I've got the map there.

I've got some sound coming in of crashing waves.

WAVES CRASH

-Well, beautiful.

-I doff my hat to this one.

I think they'll really like the brill.

It's nice how I've brushed it with the seaweed butter.

Very nice, fat piece of brill. This is lovely.

Actually, I think the green sauce makes the dish for me.

What about that jelly? All right with that in the end?

Yeah. It's not going to be rock-hard,

because I want it to be a soft jelly.

It was supposed to be mussel jelly. It hadn't jellified.

The symbolic seaweed is a bit hard to spear on a fork.

I didn't do very well on this one. I got a six.

It'll be interesting to see whether they share Sat's opinions, won't it?

I think it's good. The problem is I don't see this dish as gastronomic.

You could not put this dish down at a banquet, it is just not good enough.

Emily's fish course is up next.

She's also paying homage to the Normandy landings

with another beach scene, featuring grilled scallops,

smoked cockle broth, morels and seaweed.

Emily got her highest score of the week for this dish.

Today, she's hoping for another success

as she smokes her cockle broth.

Ah.

-Are you trying to kill me?

-Sorry.

-BLEEP.

Competition, isn't it?

Fired up, Emily griddles her scallops

before finishing them in the oven,

then fills reproduction World War II flasks with her

smocked cockle broth, trapping more smoke in the top.

OK. Hold on. Actually, it's probably easier like that. Thank you.

Next, sea greens, shells, scallops

and braised morels go into mess tins.

You're five minutes late.

-Five minutes late?

-Yeah.

Up against it, Josh helps out,

filling tobacco tins with dehydrated seaweed seasoning.

Thank you.

Oh. Old mess tin.

Ken, this mess tin should make you feel pretty much at home.

Quite nostalgic, Matthew. Excellent idea.

Lovely smoky smell from there.

Smoky smell.

It's the sea going in there.

I'm not absolutely certain about the scallops,

but there nothing I can do about it.

I think this is one of the biggest scallops I've ever seen

in this country. It's amazing.

A real sense of sweetness and meatiness from it.

Broth today I think has got the edge over the one from the other day.

-Really?

-I think it's really nice.

I really love the combinations of the broth and the mushrooms

and the very delicate balance of flavours here.

I love the cleanness and the freshness.

I'm hoping they're going to get the whole seasoning with the seaweed.

-Look at this. We have a little snuff box.

-Yes.

This is rough-cut seaweed tobacco.

But when you put it into the broth it just boosts

the flavour of the broth.

Delicious.

This is a fabulous dish. I could easily see this at the banquet.

It's hit the button.

Halfway through, the judges discuss their scores so far.

-I think today's been a great day so far.

-I absolutely agree.

I've given one of those dishes a ten.

-Ten?!

-A ten.

I've been a little bit less generous than you,

but I think very much level pegging.

Only going to be a mark or two in it.

Each dish now, I find, is quite inspired. I'm astounded.

You know, they'd be so thrilled to hear you say that.

Time for the main course. Both chefs have chosen rabbit.

Emily's up first with her tribute to the British countryside

during wartime - Don't Come Back Empty-Handed.

Featuring a rabbit banger, belly and slow-cooked leg,

presented alongside baby vegetables

and edible black pudding soil on a quirky allotment scene.

But with so many technical elements to perfect,

Emily fell short on this dish during the week.

-Have you made any tweaks today?

-Yeah, for sure.

Little things which I should have done better the first time anyway.

Emily's reminded of just how important it is to get every

element right today, as Ken arrives in the kitchen.

-Hello.

-Hello, how are you, Josh?

-Nice to meet you.

-And Emily.

-Good afternoon.

-How are you, my dear?

-Very well, thank you, sir.

-What a great day we've had so far.

-Some of those dishes are most imaginative.

-Good.

That's a lot of medals.

Well, I served in the Royal Navy for a number of years,

so that's my navy medal.

That last one is the Normandy medal,

for those who served in the Battle of Normandy.

My grandfather, he's passed away now,

he was involved in the planning of D-Day in London.

It all happened 70 years ago.

Anybody who served in Normandy has to be about 90 or...

I'm only 94, but there are not too many of us left now.

I think what you're doing today is really commendable.

-I certainly won't forget it.

-Thank you very much.

It's a great honour for us to be able to cook for you today, sir.

Pleasure's all mine.

It definitely makes the competition more worthwhile

when you meet a veteran who was there.

To see him looking like he was really enjoying himself

was a great feeling.

Emily deep-fries her pressed rabbit belly,

and slices her slow-cooked rabbit leg,

before frying her rabbit bangers.

Sat said a few things about the rabbit banger -

-the egg content and the offal.

-Have you worked on that?

That's right, I have. He was absolutely right.

Buttered kale is next.

Then she starts her allotment scene with potato,

carrot and turnip purees, topped with edible black pudding soil.

She adds baked baby turnips, carrots and potatoes.

I think I've stitched myself up on this course, Josh.

Then her rabbit leg, bangers,

belly and a new slice of Hodge Podge black pudding on the side.

Served with a jug of rabbit sauce

and a scattering of garlic butter snails.

Thank you.

Ah.

On the left-hand side you have

the rabbit you'd use to supplement the vegetables

which you grow in your garden. Digging for victory.

So do you think the judges will be happy with your main course?

I think I've got the balance a lot better now.

Rabbit's a dry meat. That sauce is just ideal.

I don't know, I think the sauce, for me, overwhelms the rabbit.

The saddle, I'm afraid to say, has been over water-bathed.

I do feel a bit more confident now.

I cut the sausage, I cut back the egg.

The sausage is absolutely a thing of beauty.

It's got the heart and the kidneys worked through it.

The sausage is the best thing about the dish.

I think the black pudding's good.

I took off the turnip tops as well. I think they wilted too much.

-Yeah.

-I've got some lovely kale instead.

It's not the stand-out most amazing dish.

I do think the kale is absolutely brilliant with it.

Very yummy little turnips.

I'm not overwhelmed by it, to be honest with you.

I think it's just good cooking.

But does it deliver on the brief?

Just.

Next up is Josh with his rabbit main course.

-This is your first nine, wasn't it.

-Yeah.

I think it's put the pressure on me to do well again, to be honest.

A nod to Normandy, served in a reproduction soldier's helmet,

of rabbit saddle faggots and broth,

with dumplings called dough buoys, inspired by his nan.

Josh starts with his dough buoys and rabbit faggots.

He slices his stuffed rabbit saddle

and removes his carrots from their salt-based crust.

Finally, he serves chargrilled broccoli

and rabbit broth into his soldier's helmets, supported by sandbags.

I'm glad I'm not waitressing.

Can these go in between?

Or in front of them?

Shall I just give it a bit of a test?

Yeah.

Lord.

Very good. I love the theatrical presentation, it's very clever.

-Are you happy?

-I was really happy with the rabbit.

The rabbit is absolutely sensational.

The faggots are really, really strong.

They really are delicious. Just right.

I didn't think a rabbit could be better

than the one we've just had, but this is better.

What about your faggots and dough buoys?

I tried one. They're nice and soft in the middle. Not too floury.

There's a lovely herby business going on in the dough buoy.

Lovely texture of a Victoria sponge.

I'm just a little bit concerned about my carrots, to be honest.

Might be a little bit too firm.

-The carrots have amazing flavour.

-They're salt roasted.

They're delicious carrots.

I love this dish.

I think this is a very clever, very smart, really lovely idea.

The sandbag, to me, was a genius touch.

It brings back a picture of Normandy as it was.

Have you still got your picture of your nan

-looking over you during this?

-Picture there.

She's ready and waiting for dessert.

Finally, it's dessert.

Once again, Emily

and Josh are both paying tribute to World War II with the same theme.

This time, it's celebratory street parties. Emily's up first.

This is the first street party of the day.

Indeed. It's all in the cooking though, isn't it?

Emily's is a sophisticated spin on jelly, cake and ice cream,

with cubes of blackberry jelly, blackberry and brioche lardy

cake, and a blackberry ripple buttermilk sorbet.

Emily scored a respectable seven for her street party.

But, once again, she's anxious about her lardy cakes -

a traditional West Country teacake that she's updated with brioche.

Using brioche dough in a hot kitchen was always going to be

a bit of a risk. I've taken that risk.

I've just got to push on and deliver it now.

-BLEEP.

-What was I thinking?

If Emily's lardy cakes have risen too quickly,

they could be heavy in the middle.

But there's no time to check.

She starts her plate with blackberry jelly cubes,

blackberry gel and blackberries.

Her lardy cakes go on mini cake stands.

Are you happy with them?

I am, actually, touch wood.

She pipes her blackberry mousse,

and finally adds blackberry buttermilk sorbet,

garnished with poppy seed remembrance tuiles.

-Lovely. I think this looks great.

-Absolutely enchanting.

The lardy cakes, luckily, by the skin of my teeth, have come out.

-I'm worried now. Those

-BLEEP

-lardy cakes.

-Actually, the lardy cakes are astonishingly light.

-Very good.

I like the lardy cake more than I thought I was going to like it.

I think it's just too downmarket...

You are such a snob! I could not disagree with you more!

Emily, were you happy with the buttermilk sorbet?

Yeah, I think it's a really nice,

fresh ice cream to cut through that lardy cake.

If you'll have something as stodgy as lardy cake,

you really do need custard or good ice cream.

This sorbet is lovely, but it's like nothing in your mouth.

I agree with you.

Lardy cake definitely needs a much bolder statement to accompany it.

There's a number of ingredients here looking for a home.

The end of the war for me was in a field hospital in the Netherlands,

so I heard of street parties, but I never witnessed them.

Well, let's hope we can make up for your...

This makes up for it.

Last up is Josh's street party -

a hugely ambitious feat consisting of five separate desserts -

inspired by his nan's memories of VE day.

You're looking quite calm again.

Does that mean it's ready to go?

Not that calm, to be fair.

Despite the amount of work involved,

Josh pulled off his street party yesterday, scoring highly.

This is your second nine out of ten, this dish.

The only thing he picked you up on was that your rice pudding

was a bit undercooked.

Have you changed it?

I cooked the rice a little bit more.

Personally, I thought the rice was nice.

With the clock ticking,

it's time for Josh to deliver his elaborate dish.

Starting with Victoria sponges

filled with Bergamot cream and strawberries,

followed by spiced rice pudding with burnt sugar tuiles.

Next, strawberry jelly and rosewater panna cotta.

Then, fruit scones topped with rhubarb and gooseberries.

His nan's favourite - jam and beef dripping sandwiches,

and finally, a pot of tea.

Please don't drop it.

# Bom-bom-bom-bom. #

-Wow.

-Oh, look, street party.

-It's party time.

-Oh, look.

-Wow.

My reaction is applaud, I think. Great.

It's tough, that dessert. Really tough.

I've had better Victoria sponges.

Yeah, I changed the rice pudding. Cooked on it a little bit more.

I was pretty happy with it, you know.

-The other really disappointing thing is the rice pudding.

-Yeah.

-It's rice stodge.

-Yeah.

-And the jam sandwich.

-I really hope the veteran realises what that is.

I found this sandwich delicious because it was a bit unusual.

It's the grease of beef dripping.

-I rather like the jelly.

-Yeah, jelly's nice.

I think it's actually completely style over content.

To be able to dream up a street party

and present it on the table here is quite remarkable.

-There's no saying how much I'm hurting.

-Yes.

It's been a day of high, high achievement on both sides.

My highest score was a ten and my lowest score was a seven.

-You're six points ahead this week.

-I was back to zero today.

Our dishes were...

I couldn't do that much more to them, do you know what I mean?

-I don't know.

-I find it hard to distinguish between them.

Well, rest assured we'll blame you.

Welcome, chefs.

Has it been a tough week?

Totally exhausting, yeah.

You both cooked great dishes today.

There have been five nines and two tens.

Of course I know that what you two want to know is

who's going through to the finals.

So I'll tell you.

That our winner is...

-..Emily.

-Seriously?

Well done. She's amazing.

Emily, that was obviously a shock, how do you feel?

I'm-I'm-a... I don't know what to say, actually.

-You have to say something.

-I'm totally amazed. Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much, it means a lot.

-And you know what?

I'm really sorry, Josh, cos there was practically nothing in it.

I think she deserves it, absolutely.

Emily, your stand out dishes were your first course.

That pork rillette was just sensational. I gave it a ten.

And we all loved your scallop course. It was a sensation.

-Ken, I think you gave it a ten.

-Yes, I did.

I confess, the only plate I totally cleared today

were the grilled scallops. Thank you.

Josh, I have to tell you, I thought

the outstanding dish today was your rabbit dish.

I thought it was an absolute stormer.

I loved the flavours, it was just an excellent dish.

Really great dish.

As a veteran, I was pleased to find every item referred to

-World War II or Normandy.

-BOTH: Thank you very much.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-You did good.

-I am totally and utterly delighted.

Amazed, absolutely shocked. I don't even know what to think.

I was six points behind Josh.

Oh! Well, Emily did not expect that, did she?

-No.

-I think Emily deserves to go through.

She really upped her game today.

Both those young chefs had remarkable ideas.

Astonishing what they came up with.

-Cheers.

-You did fantastic cooking, Josh.

-Congratulations.

-You were amazing.

Oh, my God.