London and South East Starter Great British Menu

-This year on Great British Menu...

-Ah! Trying to kill me!

..the nation's finest chefs...

-Gloves off today.

-Boom.

..have been challenged to produce 21st century dishes

to honour Britain's war heroes.

-AMERICAN VOICE: It's party time.

-..for a banquet marking

the 70th anniversary of D-day

at London's majestic St Paul's Cathedral

- an iconic bastion of British wartime resilience.

Going head-to-head this week

are three of London and the Southeast's most innovative chefs.

-Seasoned pro Adam Byatt...

-I'm pushed, I want to be pushed.

..Adam's one-time sous chef and talented newcomer Tom Sellers.

-Come on!

-..and returning contender Adam Simmonds.

This year, I've come back bigger and stronger.

Who's determined to rectify the mistakes of last year.

But he's got tough competition with the hungry first-timers.

In this competition...your ration pack

is not going to be the one that's seen.

Can Adam come back victorious?

-Or will he crumble again?

-Simmonds.

Make sure there's no bones in your chicken, yeah?

In June 2014, the nation will commemorate 70 years since D-day,

the momentous battle that saw

British and Allied troops help bring an end to World War II.

The chefs have been tasked with producing their finest hour

on a plate in honour of the brave men and women

who fought for us, and have delved into the past for inspiration...

both at home and abroad.

How did you feel when the Allied troops liberated...?

HE SPEAKS FRENCH

Battling it out this week

for the chance to cook at the D-day banquet are...

..returning chef Adam Simmonds,

out to prove his worth

after he misinterpreted the theme last year...

I'm back, I've nailed the brief, and I'm determined to go all the way.

..first-timer Adam Byatt, an experienced

and award-winning veteran of the London food scene...

After cooking for 23 years in London,

it's now my time to deliver in the Great British Menu kitchen.

..and Adam's ex-trainee, talented newcomer Tom Sellers,

who opened his first restaurant last year.

I got my first Michelin star. Now my sights are on the banquet.

Obviously, I've been here before. How are you feeling?

-I don't have any nerves.

-I've heard that about you.

We'll see about that.

I'll be a lot happier when I know who the veteran chef is.

Judging the chefs is the most

successful chef in Great British Menu history.

A three-time champion who doesn't take any prisoners.

I think it really matters who could be judging us.

That could be the difference for some of us.

Richard Corrigan,

who judged Adam Simmonds in the London region last year.

-Good morning, Adam.

-Good morning, chef.

-Last year, you completely missed the brief.

-Yeah.

This year, I've come back bigger and stronger.

Hopefully, you'll see that.

Adam, first year for you. Nervous?

I'm up for it.

Tom Sellers, is it true Adam Byatt taught me everything you know?

Not everything.

You know, it will be a very tough week.

You have to dig deep.

I want you to honour those war heroes.

-So, good luck, chefs.

-Thank you.

First up, and with a point to prove to Richard, is Adam Simmonds,

who last time, despite leaving a pigeon bone in his starter...

Oops.

..made it to the judges' chamber.

But he disappointed the panel with his interpretation

of the Comic Relief brief...

-It's perfectly cooked.

-But there are no laughs.

..and lost a place in the final to Tom Aikens.

Welcome back. So you were disappointed last year?

Yeah, of course. This year, hopefully I've nailed the brief.

The menu inspiration is about honouring different people

that were involved in some way, shape or form in D-day.

The title of this, This Is Your Share, is about honouring soldiers,

so this is just a modern-day interpretation of a ration pack.

What was the food in a ration pack in the 1940s?

It was chicken-based, it was high in protein.

So it's using the bones for a consomme,

the thighs for a chicken spam, cod roe puree, high in protein.

They had dehydrated egg, but then I'm using the egg yolk,

so there's going to be celeriac that's dehydrated,

and chicken liver parfait that's dehydrated.

-And then freeze-drying it.

-Sounds like last year!

You like dehydrating things.

It suits this dish more than it did last year, in all fairness.

-And you've thought about the props this year?

-Yeah, very much so.

Adam Simmonds' dish...

he still has followed up this dehydration theme of last year.

It can be something fantastic, or it really could be a road to ruin.

Next up is seasoned pro Adam Byatt,

a newcomer to the competition

who's confident he's got what it takes

with his modern British interpretation of wartime cuisine.

What's the inspiration for your menu?

The inspiration for the menu...overall,

it was the strategy that Churchill took, his plan of attack.

This dish is By Air.

There's a beautiful teal here, we're going to do a breast of teal.

Why teal?

The inspiration, really, I think came from the Blitz, the evacuation,

the stories my nan told me of when she was evacuated into the country.

She's an urban lass, and she was evacuated out into the country.

First time she'd ever gone out and seen British game.

Teal is a small duck, and they just have

a beautiful, subtle, gamey flavour.

Something that fed...

..millions of troops during the war is Bovril.

Bov being the Latin for "ox",

oxtail was the choice for me, it's an oxtail consomme.

-We've got some yellow leg chanterelle.

-Beautiful.

Stunning. With the shallots, mixed with the braised oxtail.

It's quite dark, quite moody. It's the beginning of the war for me.

Adam Byatt's dish, By Air,

I'm expecting an amazing dish here.

Oxtail, teal, beef extract...I hope he hasn't mixed the courses up

and is going to serve me his main.

Last up is talented first-timer Tom Sellers,

who may be the youngest in the kitchen,

but has already opened his first restaurant,

winning a Michelin star in the first six months.

What's your inspiration behind your dish?

I think the whole menu, I've taken inspiration,

it's about tales of the war, really.

The starter I'm doing is called Dig For Victory.

I'm going to make an edible allotment.

There was a campaign to grow your own vegetables.

We've got a lot of different vegetables -

some baby turnips, baby radish, different carrots, cauliflower.

Some, we're going to pickle, some we're just going to keep raw,

like a crudite, almost.

-Any snails?

-No snails. I thought about it.

I did, a little bit, I thought, "Maybe one snail."

But no snails.

And then I'm going to have a chicken rillette.

It's going to essentially make the garden path in the allotment.

And then I'm going to make a soil, essentially,

so I'm going to make some rye flour, malt extract, ground hazelnuts...

barley oats.

Underneath that, I'm going to make a soft herb emulsion,

made with goat's yoghurt.

What's it like working with your ex-chef?

Yeah, I have utmost respect.

I'm just hoping that a little bit of youth

and fearlessness is going to help me.

I like the name Dig For Victory,

but at the end of the day,

it's only vegetables with some dips.

Now, he might utterly shock me - like some cooks have -

but unfortunately, I'm going to have to go...question mark on this one.

So, chefs, is this going to be your finest hour?

I think this is one of the finest things I know how to cook.

This is one of my strongest dishes.

You look a bit nervy.

Good look with your cooking. CHEFS: Thank you.

Second-timer Adam Simmonds is keen to establish

if ex-sous chef Tom and his old mentor Adam Byatt's past working relationship

will affect the competition.

So how are you two boys feeling about being in the kitchen

now we're under way?

We go back a long way, Tom and I.

-We're from the same homie.

-Got his back today, or not?

No, no, no, no. I want him to do well, but not at the expense of me.

Exactly, and it's not going to be at me either.

-Eh, Tom?

-I'm just head down, all right?

RICHARD: Must be really difficult for them both,

one having been a commis in the other's kitchen,

and here he is chomping at his heels.

A lot of pressure on those chaps' heads.

Ambitious newcomer Tom is prepping vegetables

for his Dig For Victory starter, cutting heritage carrots into discs

and blanching baby turnips.

Like his competitors, his mind's firmly focused on the wartime brief.

So, boys, I brought us a little inspiration.

It's a little Churchill quote.

"Difficulties mastered are opportunities won", yeah?

-Remember what we're cooking for.

-Yeah, that's very thoughtful.

It's just in my eyeline.

I think, on a serious note,

you said last year, you totally missed the brief.

I'd like to think I've hit it this time.

Returning contender Adam Simmonds has over

two decades of restaurant experience,

and spent the last seven years at Danesfield House in Marlow,

where cooking modern food with cutting-edge techniques

earned him a Michelin star.

I failed, crashed and burned last year, so I need to redeem myself.

This year, he's gone that extra mile to ensure he nails the brief...

The effort I put into this, it has consumed my life.

..with a research visit to Churchill's War Rooms...

-So.

-Blimey. You get a real sense of what it would have been like.

The smell of cigar smoke...

Absolutely, the place would be full of cigar smoke.

..and even hiring a props designer to bring his ideas to life.

-All about representing people that were left behind.

-Yes.

To get a dish to the D-day banquet would be massive,

to honour people that sacrificed so much for us.

Bit of advice I'm going to give you, chef -

please, do not, do not mess it up this year, please.

Well, thank you.

Concentrating on the job in hand,

Adam Simmonds is tackling his controversial freeze-dried

chicken liver parfait, a technique he used in a dish last year.

You're very passionate about your freeze-dryer.

Well, no, when it's in context with the dish, then yes.

If it's not in context, then no.

-So it only enhances the dish.

-This is your second year in...

-Yep.

-..I've seen no props, no plates, nothing - what are you doing?

-That's all to be revealed, Richard.

-It's all to be revealed?

-Yeah.

-What, even your colleagues...?

-Yeah, they haven't seen it yet.

-Wow.

By the way, this year, make sure there's no bones in it.

No, I'll try not to.

Also focusing firmly on the brief is seasoned pro Adam Byatt.

Like Adam Simmonds, he's making a consomme

using an old wartime favourite in his oxtail dish.

He's drawing on personal influences to inspire his dishes.

My grandad was a cook in the British Army,

so actually, in some ways it's got another layer of meaning.

-Is it hitting personal notes a little bit?

-Yeah, completely.

Adam Byatt has worked in London for over 20 years.

He may not hold a Michelin star like his rivals,

but he's sharpened his knife in some of the capital's top establishments

and currently owns two restaurants - Trinity and Bistro Union.

I'm a fantastic cook, I'm very good at what I do.

This brief does strike a chord. Cooking and food is in my blood.

Adam has used his family's own experiences of World War II

as inspiration for his menu.

His grandad was an army cook,

and his nan has vivid memories of being evacuated from London.

It was the uncertainty of these bombs coming over.

I think not knowing whether you were going to wake up in the morning

or not, and I think that was the worst thing for me.

Amazing. How many people nowadays would be able to cope with that?

With a similar scenario.

-Well, you've got no choice, you're forced to deal with it.

-Precisely.

Adam wanted to run his dish ideas past his biggest critics -

his wife and young family.

Looks nice, Daddy.

SHE SLURPS

-Mmm.

-You like it?

-Yeah!

-I think it's very nice, it's delicious.

BOTH: Good luck, Daddy!

Adam's By Air dish has a lot of processes,

and he's juggling the main elements.

His teal is resting, his consommme is simmering,

and he's separating the meat from roasted oxtail bones.

You're looking a bit stressed.

No, I'm pushed, I want to be pushed, that's the point, isn't it?

Quite blokey, this dish, eh...

It's big, it's bold, it's proper food, proper flavours.

It's how I like to cook, and...

Adam, Adam... Adam thought the same last year. He went home.

Another chef who's pushing himself is talented newcomer Tom Sellers.

He's pressing his chicken rillette - or pate - into a mould to set.

-How's it going, Tom, coming together?

-Yeah, I think so,

I've always been a big believer that cooking is about confidence.

Tom's confident cooking style is displayed in the modern techniques

and ingredients he uses at his southeast London restaurant, Story.

I am the new kid on the block, I'm 15 years younger than these guys.

It's something that is quite fresh, and it feels youthful,

a little bit playful.

You know, I'd like to go out there and score big.

I'd feel massively honoured if I got a dish to the banquet,

to celebrate the courage and the people that sacrificed their lives.

Tom has the added advantage of not only training

under rival Adam Byatt, but also Tom Aikens,

a previous Great British Menu winner.

He did very well here, did all the sections.

He's very light-hearted, very fun, he works very, very hard.

Tom Aikens beat Adam Simmonds to the finals last year,

so who better to get an opinion from on Tom's starter?

Think it fits the brief?

Yeah, it's a nice name, Dig For Victory,

it's going to capture what the brief is about.

His restaurant roof garden also provided

valuable inspiration for Tom's allotment-themed dish.

-You're going to come and raid my garden, are you?

-Maybe.

On a serious note, how am I going to win this thing?

Practise, practise, practise, practise.

I'm definitely going to take Tom's words on board.

I think I'd be silly not to, he's been there,

done it, got the T-shirt. And hopefully, I'll do him proud.

Things aren't going smoothly with Tom's starter.

-Oh, you

-BLEEP!

BLEEP!

-Tom, do you have a problem?

-Uh?

-No, I'm good, man.

-No problem?

BLEEP.

BLEEP.

Tom's chicken rillette, which will form the path for his allotment,

needed to set slightly to make it easy to cut.

Rillette's just stayed too long in the blast freezer,

so it's a little too cold.

Quickly, I've got to get it to room temperature,

because cold rillette is not nice.

Nothing goes unnoticed by veteran Richard.

Looks a bit set, that, doesn't it?

Yeah, I had to set it so I could get nice shape.

Now it's all about bringing it to room temperature.

-With plating up imminent...

-BLEEP.

Whoa.

..Tom remains confident in his dish.

Do you think Richard's going to be a big fan of, uh, a garden?

I think he's going to be a fan of this one if I get it right.

I think people underestimate how to make a vegetable so beautiful.

In this competition...I've got a sneaky suspicion...

your garden, and your ration pack,

is not going to be the first one that's seen.

Yeah, but mine's going to be the best garden.

Tom's first to plate up his Dig For Victory starter.

He starts his edible allotment by piping a goat's yoghurt

and herb emulsion around his chicken rillette path.

-Which he's hoping has defrosted.

-Is that a second path?

Yeah, little path, you know.

He covers with a layer of oat and malt soil...

and carefully plants a selection of pickled, blanched

and baked vegetables, including beetroot, radish and turnip.

-Dig For Victory?

-And I've dug deep, so...

-Hopefully, I'm going to be victorious.

-Let's go taste.

You know, I really do think it fits the brief.

Beautiful presentation, it's very obvious what it is.

I've tried to treat them vegetables with as much respect as possible.

Do you taste the cauliflower? Happy with the seasoning?

He's treated all the vegetables differently to bring acidity...

-sweetness onto the plate.

-The carrot's slightly too acidic for me.

The rillette of chicken,

and the edible soil...there's quite a bit of it on there.

It's a nice thing to put in my mouth, but calling something soil

that I then have to eat, I find quite tricky.

-It adds an earthiness to the dish, don't you think?

-Was that a pun?

It was a good one.

So I tried to get everything to flow,

and the temperature of everything. Rillette, too cold, not good.

What temperature is that yoghurt supposed to be served at?

-That's served cool.

-Do you want to taste that?

Every component has been cooked very cleverly. So much going on.

For me, it's slightly too much.

-Seven, eight, maybe?

-I'd probably go seven.

Obviously, there's always improvements,

but as a whole, I'm happy.

HE EXHALES

How's it going?

No, I feel good, first up, first of the week, I'm happy.

Next to plate up is seasoned pro Adam Byatt.

His By Air dish is inspired by both the Blitz

and his nan's stories of evacuation.

He starts by carving his teal -

representing his nan's time in the countryside.

Then lays on a whole ring of roasted onion,

topped with shredded oxtail and chanterelles.

Adam places cubes of set beef stock

and borage flowers around the outside.

The oxtail consomme is served in World War II RAF flight flasks,

to be poured at the table.

And he's using a secret gadget to add the finishing touches...

What's that for, Adam?

Makes smoke.

I can quite clearly see that.

..evoking the sights and smells of the Blitz.

There we go. We're up.

-Is this your finest hour?

-I think it's up there.

-Let's taste it.

-Enjoy it, chaps.

-Looks impressive.

-I'm not sure about the foot on the leg, personally.

I think it looks fantastic on the plate.

Hmm. Happy with the teal, the way it's cooked?

-Yeah, I am, actually.

-Big piece of onion.

Yeah, but beef and onion sort of feels as appropriate as it gets.

-Do you think the onion's cooked enough?

-Yeah.

Did you get enough flavour into that consomme, Adam?

-The flavours are very good.

-It's a very robust dish.

If I was going to give it any criticism, it would be just be,

is that what people want to eat as a starter?

What score would you give this?

I don't see an awful lot wrong with it,

and I'm my biggest critique, for sure.

Has it made you nervous?

-No.

-No?

-I'd say...a seven.

-All right, boys.

-How was that?

-It was all right. Doesn't give much away.

Also keeping quiet is returning contender Adam Simmonds.

He failed to hit the brief last year and has

so far kept his props secret this time.

-But he's finally ready to reveal all.

-What have you got there?

-You worried?

-No, I'm interested.

He's serving his chicken and celeriac starter

in specially designed ration packs.

He starts with his hot ingredients - cod roe puree

and celeriac choucroute form the base.

Then it's the chicken elements - egg yolk, chicken wing and chicken spam.

Simmonds, make sure there's no bones in your chicken, yeah?

That's going to haunt me, you know that?

He presents the dry elements separately,

to be added to the plate at the table.

Crispy chicken skin is placed in a bag on the side,

and his risky dehydrated celeriac and chicken liver parfait

are served in a tin.

The last component is his chicken consomme, served in a flask.

Your share.

Last year, no props, this year...?

Well, it's not all props, it's about the food on the plate as well.

Let's taste it.

"Read before you feed." I think the idea is brilliant,

the way he's presented it, everything about it.

I agree with you, the presentation

and the props and everything - stunning.

This is the parfait and the celeriac, dehydrated.

A ration pack would be all dehydrated.

Pour on boiled water or whatever it was, and it would all rehydrate,

so that concept, he has grasped,

and he has taken it 21st century and done it.

There's a lot going on here.

Clearly, there's some good cooking.

With the chicken, he's done the crispy skin, the glazed wing.

The egg was cooked beautifully.

Do you think the consomme could have been over-seasoned?

-I think it's about right.

-As an entirety, I'm not sure it works.

When you eat it all together, it's a very highly seasoned plate of food.

Maybe somewhere round six or seven.

What would you score this dish out of ten?

I'd say between a six and a seven, maybe.

There's always room for improvement.

Well, you managed to keep all your little props a secret from us.

-Was that your secret weapon?

-Very canny.

No, I just think it was an element of surprise, you know.

I'm going to start with you, Tom.

Your Dig For Victory garden with chicken rillette and vegetables.

I liked the idea...and I must say, the presentation as well.

The edible soil...

..it was good. And the rillette was very tasty.

But...

..the goat's yoghurt...

..could have been served a few degrees colder.

There was a lot going on.

The old saying in the kitchen, less is sometimes more, Tom.

I want to stick that up on your bench,

beside your other friend there.

Adam Byatt, your dish By Air, with oxtail, teal, bread and dripping.

It was a very thoughtful, emotive and soulful dish.

It was definitely a wartime dish.

And a delicious one at that.

-Thank you.

-But...

That lump of an onion...was undercooked.

Not every soldier would like a foot in his mouth.

Mm-hmm.

Adam Simmonds.

Your share ration box, with chicken parfait, celeriac and consomme.

The presentation... I have to say was really spot-on.

The chicken wing was very good.

The consomme was tasty.

But I made a remark that I thought it was a little on the salty side.

I was worried about the dehydrated chicken parfait.

But it worked.

Overall...

..it was exciting cooking. I would love to see that at the banquet.

Thank you.

So, the scores.

Tom.

For your Dig For Victory...

..an eight.

So, well done, you.

-Thank you.

-Adam Byatt.

For your By Air...

..I'm giving you an eight.

Adam Simmonds.

For Your Share...

..I'm giving you...

..a nine.

So, thank you, chefs. A very strong start.

There's nothing in it. I'll see you later.

-Well done.

-Well done.

-All to play for.

It's a good start, it's going to be a close competition.

Maybe I was hoping for slightly more.

It's one point between me, Tom and Adam.

That one point could be lost in the next course.

That's the way it works.