Central Fish Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu,

three of the central region's best chefs.

Fresh-faced newcomer Jason Hodnett...

This for me is about taking me out of my comfort zone.

..Daniel Clifford's former right-hand man, Mark Poynton...

I think this dish is good enough to go on my menu.

..and one-time champion Aktar Islam...

This is it, I've got to make this one work.

..are going head-to-head to get their dishes to a banquet

commemorating the 70th anniversary of D Day at a bastion

of the Second World War, the magnificent St Paul's cathedral.

Yesterday, none of the chefs impressed veteran Marcus Wareing...

I don't feel that excited right now.

..with Aktar dropping points for lateness.

Your time is up.

Today, it's a battle for the fish course.

You're going to be on time?

-I'm going to be on time, yeah.

-I'll believe that when I see it, big boy.

And previous champ Aktar must redeem himself.

The pressure is on full stop.

But it's current leader Mark who's feeling the heat.

-Chef, anything I can do?

-Stay out of my way.

Will he sink or swim?

-This must mean a lot to you, you're shaking.

-Sweating.

This year, our chefs have been asked to commemorate the extraordinary

bravery of troops during the D Day landings in Normandy 70 years ago.

They've been tasked with creating dishes that honour

the sacrifices made by the men and women of wartime Britain.

-"Dig for victory."

-And I've dug deep, sir.

Hopefully, I'm going to be victorious.

And have been inspired by those who fought for us on the front line.

I'd previously been a locksmith and now it was with six-inch guns.

Judging them this week is a former banquet winner -

two-Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing.

After yesterday, all three chefs need to raise their game.

I want to see the story on the plate.

I want it to be shouting all about great British produce,

but also Normandy as well.

Fish is something that needs to be really cooked to perfection.

Fish course today, boys. I'm not going to think about the starter.

I think it was a pretty bad day for us all.

I agree with you.

It's all about putting what happened on the starter course behind us

and looking forward, it's all you can do.

We're all capable of doing a really good fish dish.

Today's the day to cook some banquet-worthy food.

Yeah. Let's get it done.

First up and in last place is former banquet champion Aktar Islam.

Yesterday, his timing let him down,

leading to a one-point deduction and a score of just four.

Having previously won the fish course,

he is determined to get back on track.

It's not nice to be late and it's not nice to lose points, but I'm

back here today and I'm here to, obviously, claw these points back.

Where did the smile go?

There you go, good to see you.

-What's the name of the dish, then?

-The dish is called Allied Forces.

So what I've done, I've taken inspiration

from a Southern American stew of seafood gumbo.

I've used British coastal fish

and then combine it with influences from the Empire.

So, we've got mackerel fillets, which are going to be lightly cured,

and then we've got oyster. I'm going to

put them in a lightly spiced tempura batter.

-I see we have a bag of okra here.

-That's right.

So, with the ingredients, I've tried to represent

some of the nations that made up the Allied Forces.

So, okra being a favourite of India, so that's where that's come in.

And then that's all going to be finished off with a tomato,

coriander fish broth.

OK. Yesterday, you had a lot going on on the plate, food everywhere.

-Is this going to be the same?

-I hope not.

I think the most important thing for you today, Aktar, is timing.

Yep, that's correct. I don't want to lose any more points...

-Sure.

-..because of being late.

What happened with the starter course, that's yesterday.

Today, it's a fresh course.

-I'm going to give it my all. Thank you.

-Good luck.

Aktar's Allied Forces...

You know, the box of ingredients just sings, "Yes, please!"

But he's going first today. If Aktar

starts rolling in five, ten, 15 minutes late,

then we're going to have some big problems.

Next up, in second place, is young newcomer Jason Hodnett.

Coming from a family of military chefs,

the brief is close to his heart, but his starter lacked substance,

scoring him just five points.

Today, he's gambling on unusual flavour combinations.

My main risk for the fish course today, really, is getting it all

to balance very well.

I'm using lots of spices

and, I think, these risks sometimes will pay off.

Hopefully, this will.

-Morning, Chef.

-So, what's the name of your dish?

It's called Curried Cod and Mysterious Coconut.

OK, what's the story, then?

It's about my girlfriend's grandmother, in the '40s,

who had this mysterious thing delivered to the school

-and they didn't know what a coconut was.

-OK.

And if you can imagine how it would be, to remember the first time

you saw a lime, when you didn't know what it was, I think

that little bit of nostalgia, that's what I'm trying to evoke

-and show what surprises people had when they got these things.

-OK.

-What is the dish?

-This lovely cod.

I'm going to do a couple of different things with the cod,

one is a fish finger - it's quite British.

I'm going to make a fish broth and then all these different spices...

I mean, I know this is a risky one for the spices.

This is a box of ingredients that I would...see you cooking with.

I'm curious. A couple of the items...

Like garam masala is not something I would normally use in fish.

I'd like to see how that works because it's quite a strong flavour.

Mm.

The box of ingredients, it's almost sort of pushing

the boundaries in here.

Lime caviar, curry spices, pineapple...

What concerns me is how

they can fit with a fish like cod.

Last up is Michelin-starred Mark Poynton,

who trained under Great British Menu veteran Daniel Clifford.

His soldiers' packed lunch starter saw him

score a six to head the field by one point.

He's confident of staying on top.

I'm in the lead, I want to stay in the lead.

I'm just going to concentrate on my dish

and hopefully win Marcus over with it.

-Well, what's this dish called?

-It's called At The Harbour.

-OK.

What's the story behind it, what's your thoughts?

-It's the continuation from the starter.

-Yeah.

You know, the journey carries on.

The soldiers have just got to the harbour.

So what better way of celebrating that than a great British

-coastal fish.

-Right.

I've got these lovely langoustines, Scottish. Beautiful and sweet.

-I've a nice simply roasted plaice.

-What are you going to do with this?

So, I'm going to cook this on parchment paper on top

-of the stove to get a bit of heat into it.

-Whole?

-No, I'm going to fillet it.

-OK.

And I'm going to pickle the cucumber and serve the fennel raw.

And, to finish, it's got a nice seaweed butter sauce.

It's a really simple dish, but it's all about great produce

-and simple things cooked well is quite often the best.

-Always.

You're all incredibly close.

We really need now to raise the bar.

This is the fish course and I am really,

really looking forward to this, OK?

-Good luck, guys.

-Thank you, Marcus.

Mark's dish, At The Harbour -

simplicity is sometimes the hardest thing to get right.

I think we're going to see a lot of last-minute cookery.

So his timing today has got to be crucial.

With a low score for his starter, there's only one talking point -

Aktar's poor punctuality.

I'm just hoping Aktar is on time so it doesn't mess up my fish

cooking times, cos, you know, plaice and langoustines are very delicate.

-I appreciate that.

-I can easily overcook them.

I hope he does me a favour and gets his timings wrong.

-The will is there.

-You're going to be on time?

I'm going to be on time, yeah.

I'll believe that when I see it, big boy.

Daniel Clifford's protege Mark's dish, At The Harbour,

features delicate langoustine and plaice,

which will need cooking just before plating up.

He has plenty to do, preparing his beurre blanc fish sauce

and garnishes of cucumber and fennel.

Hi, Marcus.

-Getting on with the salad?

-Yeah, the raw fennel salad.

Fennel is a big flavour,

and that balance has to be absolutely spot on for it to work with the fish.

Because it is quite a simple dish, everything has to be

absolutely perfect - the cooking of the plaice, the langoustines.

And if I bring all that to the pass,

-I think you'll be a very happy man.

-This is a massive occasion.

-Of course.

-It's got to be something really, really good.

-You said my starter could be a nine.

-Yes.

And I thought that was my weakest dish.

-OK.

-So if that could be a nine...

-Go on, say it.

This is going to be a ten.

If I get this dish right, then you will be very happy.

-Great stuff, looking forward to it.

-Cheers, Marcus.

Is this dish good enough for the occasion?

Is it going to get him the right marks?

As simple as it is, it is still a very hard thing to achieve.

Desperate to close Mark's one-point lead,

newcomer Jason is taking a risk with

the flavours in his Curried Cod and Mysterious Coconut dish.

He is using Indian spices to create a garam masala,

cumin, cinnamon and curry powder marinade for his cod loin -

an unusual combination that has caught the eye of spice king Aktar.

I'm quite interested to see how you incorporate

garam masala into your fish

because it's not something that we would traditionally use with fish.

You are the expert in this, not me, so let's take a risk.

Do you think that's a brave decision?

Brave or stupid, we'll soon see.

Good luck(!)

I was extremely surprised to find Jason using garam masala on his cod

because it is quite strong of a flavoured spice.

Sometimes it pays off to be bold,

but you're messing with fish here, so you've got to be delicate.

Having previously won the competition,

Aktar should know what he's talking about.

Wasn't it your fish course that got you to the banquet, Aktar?

-That's correct.

-Do you think that puts on extra pressure now,

knowing that you've been there, you've done it with this course?

Mate, the pressure's on full stop no matter whether I went there or not.

It's just against the clock for you, eh?

After his disastrous starter score,

Aktar's aiming to redeem himself and impress Marcus with his

Allied Forces dish, paying homage to the countries that helped win

the Second World War.

He's using British mackerel and American gumbo sauce

and an Indian favourite - okra.

The okra is an interesting ingredient.

Do you think the veterans are going to be appreciative

of this particular vegetable?

Various recipes in the official Ministry of Defence cookbooks

that were issued to chefs...

I mean, I had the pleasure of going through one.

I spoke to a veteran as well.

-And, you know, there are recipes for okra in there.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Good.

While researching this year's brief,

Aktar discovered an official Army cookbook from the Second World War,

which detailed recipes the Armed Forces would have used

when stationed overseas and faced with unfamiliar ingredients.

The manual issued by the War Office in 1945,

and it's been given to chefs who were in the Armed Forces.

The bit that really caught my eye was Section 7 here about India

and Indian vegetables.

It's amazing to think that, you know, the British Army,

we actually had recipes for all these...what

we regard as exotic vegetables today...back then.

While abroad, many British troops ate exotic foods,

and to find out first-hand what they made of them

Aktar invited veteran John Field to his restaurant.

Good afternoon, John. Absolute pleasure.

John joined the Royal Marines in 1941 and his work with tank guns

saw him serve in destinations all over the world.

Your time in service led you to be posted in India.

The great meal that I really remember was Christmas Day,

1945, when an Indian couple

asked me and about 30 other fellows

to come for a Christmas curry and rice celebratory meal.

That's amazing, that is.

I had a young fellow, and he taught me a few Indian dishes to cook.

And I am still cooking them today. I cooked one this morning.

-Did you?

-Yeah.

-What is it, what did you cook?

-Masala omelette.

That's amazing, that is.

No, that's very good.

Using his War Office cookbook, Aktar wanted to try out an okra recipe

similar to what John

and his fellow soldiers might have eaten during the War.

One that stands out for me is what we call ladies' fingers,

or bhindi or okra.

Or vendai kai in Tamil.

Or vendai kai in Tamil, you show-off.

There you go, John, I'll let you go first.

It's all right.

This will work, actually.

I just want to be able to say thank you to all those who sacrificed

so much and just, you know, be their hero for one day.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Along with his okra and American gumbo sauce,

Aktar is also serving mackerel, first cured and then cooked.

Tell me about what you've got here.

So, the mackerel, just giving it a salt and sugar cure.

Salt and sugar, OK.

And I see behind you, you've got quite a bit going on.

-But all in order?

-Um, yeah, I hope so.

It needs to be.

-Don't let that time slip away, OK?

-No.

-Please.

-Promise.

-Good man.

Former champion Aktar is not the only one under pressure,

the heat is on for newcomer Jason.

He's using bold spicing to tell the story of his wartime coconut.

Having crumbed his codfish finger,

Jason's moved on to another intense flavour - his lime caviar.

Where does this sit in the dish, then?

This is going inside the coconut.

So there's a fish broth inside the coconut with these

-floating around inside.

-Yeah.

Lime, big flavour, going into the coconut, with the broth.

He needs to get that balance right.

Otherwise, he's not going to get past Thursday.

With plating up near, Mark's finishing his beurre blanc sauce.

He's got big shoes to fill, having trained for seven years under

twice Great British Menu winner, two-Michelin-starred

Daniel Clifford, who's dropped by unexpectedly to check up on him.

-Hi, Chef, how are you?

-BLEEP,

-what are you doing here?

I've just come down to say hello.

-Are you judging the fish?

-No, no, just come down to say hello.

When he put his arms around me and said,

"Hello, Chef," I was like, "Oh, my God!" You know, he makes me nervous.

That's going to be a seaweed butter sauce.

-We need to add a tail at the end.

-Who's the judge?

-Marcus Wareing.

-Really?

Tough one. Hello, boss.

-How's it going?

-How are you?

-I'm all right, Chef.

-What'd you get for your starter?

I started with a five - got one taken off for being late.

-And how'd you get on?

-Five, unfortunately.

-It's not bad, five's a good start.

-Talk to us about Marcus.

It seems very level at the moment.

Remember, I got a ten last year, so, uh, I'm expecting great things.

-Well, I'll let you know.

-Good luck, yeah?

-Thanks a lot.

-Aktar... Do you want the watch?

-I could do with one, yeah.

Take care, boys. Good luck. See you later.

Bet you weren't expecting that, were you, Chef?

It doesn't get any less nerve-racking, that's for sure.

Former fish-course champ Aktar is plating up first, and determined not

to be late with his dish honouring the efforts of the Allied Forces.

The pressure's on as he shells his oysters,

dips them in curry-leaf batter and deep-fries.

Aktar, how are we doing for time?

-I might surprise you, Chef.

-Yeah?

-Well, two minutes left, are you going to be there?

-Yes, Chef.

With Marcus keeping an eye on the clock, Aktar plates his okra,

siphons his gumbo broth, places his mackerel

and adds curry-battered oysters.

With time nearly up, he adds crayfish rice balls and garnish.

Wow, lovely.

And on time. That must bring a smile.

And is this dish going to bring victory for you?

I hope so, Chef.

-Good. Shall we go and try it, then?

-Let's try it, Chef.

In here, we've got... That's the tomato broth.

Yeah.

Is the spice in the broth what you were looking for?

Yeah, bearing in mind the type of guest that will be at the banquet,

-I've got to make sure it's one that everyone can enjoy.

-Yeah.

The broth, for me, I expect more flavour from Aktar.

The curing of the mackerel...

It does extract some of the moisture out from the fish.

The mackerel is, you know, cooked perfect.

I think the oyster...

I lost all of that sort of crunchy texture as soon as that soup hit it.

Are you happy with the texture of the okra?

I am, because okra can become quite like glue.

Do you think the okra adds anything?

If that wasn't there, I wouldn't miss it.

Do you think the veterans will understand the story you're

telling with this dish?

I'd hope so. The War Effort was an Allied effort.

Give it a score.

I would like to hope I'd get, you know, seven or eight for it.

For me, I'm thinking this is a six or a seven.

If I was Marcus, I'd probably say six.

-If I was Aktar, I'd be looking for a seven or an eight.

-OK.

Chefs.

-All right?

-Yeah, I'm really happy with the way that dish was served.

I made it to the pass on time.

For me, there's not much more I could have done.

Michelin-starred Mark is up next with his dish At The Harbour.

He's cooking his plaice on greaseproof paper to prevent it

sticking to the hot plate.

With no room for error, it must be perfect.

But with plating up fast approaching, he's burnt the paper.

-Everything all right over there, mate?

-My fish is stuck to the paper.

Chef, anything I can do?

Stay out of my way.

Unable to remove the fish from the paper, Mark has no other option...

Will you get me the fish, please?

..but to start again.

With time running out,

the success of his dish all rests on his second attempt not burning.

It's a race against the clock to get his dish plated up.

He readies his shells and scatters pickled cucumber

before positioning the problematic plaice.

He tops it with langoustine, fennel and a seaweed butter sauce.

Finally, he adds fennel cress as a garnish.

-This must mean a lot to you, you're shaking.

-Sweating.

-You are shaking.

Yeah, you know it. It's a tough one for me.

That looked like hard work.

-I want to serve you the best, Marcus.

-OK.

-Are you going to be flying the flag?

-I think this is good enough.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Shall we go and taste?

-Yeah.

-Good, let's go.

OK, that was a bit hair-raising there.

Yeah, no, this is, for me, my best dish.

-Very well presented, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-The dish itself is fantastic.

With the cooking of the plaice itself,

is that what you were looking for?

-It plates up nicely.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, I don't think I'd change that.

That's a perfectly cooked fish.

-Yeah, it is.

-It falls apart.

-Langoustine.

-I think langoustine is a beautiful, succulent, sweet...

Cooked really well. He hasn't messed about with them.

And it's got that fresh, crisp crunch from the fennel.

-It really works with the langoustine.

-The fennel?

-Mm.

The seaweed butter sauce, do you feel you put enough on the dish?

I think so, because you don't want it to overpower,

it's there as a complement.

-Does it fill the harbour brief?

-It's a fantastic plate of food.

I mean, if that's what you get at the harbour,

-I'd actually stay at the harbour.

-I'd move in.

All right, final question, give me a score.

If you gave me that dish and I was judging you, God forbid,

I'd give it a nine or a ten.

-Really?

-Yeah.

I would say that's a seven.

Eight.

To me, it's a nine all day long.

-Hi, chaps.

-Well done, Chef.

-Thank you.

-How'd that go?

I think he maybe cracked a smile at one point, but that might be...

Now it's all about you, Jason.

-It's all about you.

-No pressure, then.

Aiming to impress Marcus, Jason's using a host of exotic spices

and unusual flavour combinations in his Curried Cod and Coconut dish.

He fills his coconut with pineapple salsa and cubes of spiced cod,

followed by his lime jelly caviar.

Finally, he fills teapots with lemongrass broth

and places his codfish finger on the side.

That was... Yeah, hard course.

-Everything's in there that you want?

-Yeah, I think so.

-Yeah?

-Well, let's go and try it, then, shall we?

-Let's do it.

-Good luck.

Thanks, Chef.

-Tell me about this.

-It's part of the story.

It says on the back here, "A mystery gift from overseas - see

"if you can work out what to do with it."

Do you think that will come together, this story?

Because you don't come with the dish, this does.

It's an insight into a story.

Do you feel that the lime caviar is needed in the dish?

I think it lends acidity to the dish.

That just tastes like a jelly. I don't think that's set enough.

Let's talk about the cod and the spice that you've used.

I think it's subtle enough, I don't think it's too intrusive.

That particular spice isn't really doing anything for the fish.

Traditionally, when you do something like this to fish, you'd only

use turmeric and chilli.

The crunchiness of the fish finger, is that what you were looking for?

Yeah, I think so.

The coating's nice, really crispy.

The fish finger is lovely and it's cooked perfectly as well.

OK, well, you've cooked it, we've tasted it, now I'd like to mark it.

For me, six.

-I'd say five, six maximum for that.

-I'd say five.

At a push.

-How was that, pal?

-I knew that would be hard, but that was really hard.

I tell you what, when my fish stuck to that paper, I was wreck.

I've not been that nervous in 18 years of cooking.

I don't ever want to feel like that again.

One thing I can assure you, this kitchen does that to you.

I've had my wobble, I don't intend on having another one.

I'm still happy with the food I produced.

I'm happy on both fronts, completely different to yesterday.

I'm all right where I am but I don't want to be dropping any points

and going farther behind.

-Hi, guys. How are you doing?

-Good.

Well, starter course was a bit of a disaster.

Has the fish course been better?

Aktar, I'm going to start with you.

Your Allied Forces, with mackerel, crayfish and oysters.

I thought the mackerel was cooked beautifully well.

And of course, the okra, it's a very big flavour,

but I thought you got that absolutely spot on today.

I really enjoyed eating that.

But...

The tempura oyster, for me,

is something that must be crisp all the way through, and I felt before

the broth was put onto the dish the tempura had already gone soft.

Tomato broth, I do think you needed a little bit more depth.

I still think there's a lot of elements in your food

and I think that's something you need to be aware of.

Mark, At The Harbour,

with plaice, langoustine, fennel.

It looked beautiful in the shell. The plaice was fantastic.

The langoustines, they're beautiful.

-They were large, plump, beautifully cooked.

-Thank you.

But...

It thought the sauce was so good, you want more of it.

I do think you played it safe. You need to take some risks.

Jason.

For your Curried Cod and Mysterious Coconut, with cod fingers

and lemongrass broth.

I thought the cod finger was nice.

And I thought the lime caviar did add a nice bit of acidity to the dish.

But...

When I saw the beautiful, big piece of cod,

I actually thought I was going to see some cod in your dish.

And I felt slightly let down by the small pieces in the coconut.

The coconut was such a big feature for you, and the story...

..but yet it was only a vessel to eat out of.

The dish tasted nice, but it didn't excite me.

So, for the scores.

Aktar, for your Allied Forces...

Aktar, I'm going to give you a seven.

You made a massive effort to get it there on time, so I'm really pleased.

-Well done.

-Thanks, Chef.

Mark, for your At The Harbour...

The score I'm going to give you is an eight.

Jason.

For your Curried Cod and Mysterious Coconut...

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

You are pushing it, but you've got to find the right balance.

I will say this - much, much better cookery.

Tomorrow, the big one, the main course.

Have a good night's sleep, guys, and I'll see you first thing.

ALL: Thanks, Chef.

-Well done, chaps.

-Yeah, good.

-Happy?

-Yeah. Yeah, yeah. He's a tough man to please, you know?

Yeah.

With two courses down, Mark has increased his lead to three points,

leading Aktar and Jason trailing in joint second place.

I'm really happy with an eight from Marcus.

It puts me ahead, and that's where I want to be.

Pleased I managed to turn it around today and get a respectable score.

Really happy with that seven. The only way is up.

Really looking forward to the main course.

I wanted a better score than the six, but...

Don't worry, boys, I'll get you.

Me and Aktar being level, that's got to concern you,

seeing as I was a point ahead.

-Massive day tomorrow, though.

-Yeah, the main course.

-Let's do it.

-To tomorrow.

-Yep.

Tomorrow, it's the main course, and Mark is determined to stay on top.

I listened to Marcus, he thought I was playing it safe,

so show him what I can do.

But with Aktar hoping to take him down...

So this is our little war, Aktar?

Yes, it is, and I hope to be just as victorious.

..will it be Jason who snatches victory?

I think I need that more than you.