North East Main Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu

three of the North East's most innovative chefs -

returning contender Colin McGurran...

You've got to be brave in these situations.

..ambitious newcomer Paul Welburn...

I'm adding a bit of theatre to it.

..and fellow first-timer, Michelin-starred Frances Atkins...

Do you think that's going to keep you in the lead?

..are battling it out for the honour of cooking

at a banquet commemorating 70 years since D-Day

at the majestic St Paul's Cathedral.

Yesterday's fish course saw Colin triumph once again.

I'm going to give you...eight.

With Frances and Paul still struggling to hit the top marks.

I couldn't believe it! So frustrated at myself.

Today it is the main course,

and Colin's banking on a family connection to maintain his lead.

I'm feeling the pressure now.

This has got to be the best pie that Phil's ever eaten.

But with Paul and Frances out to catch him...

So I'm determined to do the memory of my father proud.

Who will emerge victorious?

I'm going to give you a score of 10.

This year the chefs are paying tribute to our World War II veterans

who fought for our freedom on the beaches of Normandy 70 years ago.

They have carried out extensive research

and been on emotional journeys with their own families...

He was operating in the North Atlantic convoy, wasn't he?

-He was.

-Which probably, at that time,

-was one of the most dangerous places to be.

-It certainly was, yes.

..to produce patriotic dishes

which encompass the spirit of wartime Britain.

Judging them all week

is two-Michelin starred former champion Phil Howard.

Your main course is where you've got to get fed.

It's the point where you want to get stuck into something lovely.

But, obviously, there's a brief attached,

so it's got to tick that box.

This course means a lot to me, it's representing my grandad.

I want to do the dish proud, as well as him.

If I get another eight, I'll be chuffed.

Well, my scores are climbing.

If I have a good one today

I could be a serious threat to you.

I've only got a one-point lead over you now, Frances -

competition's heating up now. Bit of pressure on me.

Pressure on us all.

First up, and in the lead, is returning champion Colin.

He's so far impressed with strong stories,

as well as technical cookery, and is hoping that today

a dish inspired by his grandfather, who served on D-Day,

will keep him in the top spot.

It's my grandad that's inspired this course.

It's all about what he used to make for me,

and I just want to perfect it and take to a different level

and do him proud.

-Good morning.

-Good morning, Colin. How are you?

Very well, thank you. Yourself?

Good to see you. In the lead at the start of day three.

It gives you a bit more confidence

to perfect everything you need to do.

One less thing to worry about is the chasing,

so you've just got to keep in front, really.

So, tell me... Tell me about your main course?

-OK, the title is Grandad's Posh Pie.

-OK.

He was on the ship on D-Day, and he was great at making pies.

And this is my homage to him, really.

It's going to be a beef cheek pithivier.

Sliced, layered... I'll layer them with carrots and white cabbage,

inside the pithivier.

That's going to be resting on this kind of herb polenta.

-Grandad used to use polenta with his pies?

-Er...no.

-No?

I had to upgrade a little bit.

And that's going to be garnished with...

I've got a wonderful piece of fillet here, fillet of beef,

so I'm just going to do a nice cut to go with the pie as well.

The pie needs the fillet of beef?

It might look like a lot of protein,

but in the pithivier you've got quite a lot of vegetables as well,

-so your fillet of beef will act to complement the pie, as well.

-Yeah.

For the showstopper main course, a pie is... It's a brave call.

Good luck.

There's no props...

I think he is aiming at taking it through to the banquet

based on spectacular culinary skill and great delivery.

So, erm... it's quite a big ask, I think.

Next up, in second place, is determined newcomer Paul.

Yesterday he failed to hit the brief,

and forgot to plate an element of his fish course,

leaving him trailing by three points.

I've had a few negative bits and pieces on my courses.

Big mistake yesterday, cost me.

But I'm confident this dish is amazing

and I want to get to St Paul's Cathedral, to the banquet.

I want to see one of my dishes, and hopefully it's the main course.

Here's a proper box of food! Now we're talking.

-Man's food, if ever I saw it. Good morning.

-Good morning.

Tell me about the inspiration for the dish, Paul.

It's called Blackout Beef.

So, the inspiration for the dish is the Blitz,

the people affected away from the actual fighting.

OK, talk me through the ingredients.

Starting off with a beautiful piece of Galloway beef rib.

So, what are you going to do with that?

This is going to be broken down into two elements.

The rib eye I'll slow-cook, and then I'll burn it

so it's black on the outside with some sugar,

and leave the middle nice and pink.

Top of the rib cap,

I'm going to braise that in Yorkshire Blackout Beer.

It's also going to have a number of other components as well.

So I'm using the bone marrow. This is going to be smoked.

In the blackout period you'd have that sort of smoky smell,

the smells of smoke coming through.

Tell us what you're doing with the heart.

I'm going to trim up the back nicely,

brine it to get seasoning into it,

and then, literally last second, it'll be flash-fried,

to be served essentially rare.

-The heart of Britain.

-Hmm.

To me, this dish encapsulates the whole brief.

For me, it's the one I would love to see go into the banquet.

-So this is your trump card, so to speak?

-I think it is.

I love the idea behind it.

The rib with the Blackout Beer,

the heart, the bone marrow...

I sense he's got something up his sleeve.

It just sounds like a great dish.

Finally, in last place, is Michelin-starred Frances,

with her menu inspired by

her father's first-hand experience of D-Day.

After a disappointing start earlier,

her fish course scored a healthy seven

and today she's determined to go one better.

To get ahead of Paul, all I can do now is to make sure my dish

is accurate, looks good and tastes well.

-How are we?

-Very well, thank you.

-And yourself?

-Ready to go?

-Of course.

-Fantastic.

Tell me about the dish.

-This is the dish which is again a part of my father's story.

-Yeah.

And after the beaches, he escaped to a monastery

and he goes and seeks sanctuary -

which is the name of the dish -

and was cooked a lovely meal.

It is an extraordinary story, and, erm...

I'm sure you'll do justice to it with this box of ingredients.

-Are you aware of what they actually ate, or is this...

-Yes.

This is why I've chosen duck.

And tell me what you are going to do with the duck.

Well, there is an old way of using duck in Normandy,

where they press it and eat everything.

-OK. Other little bits and pieces over here I can see?

-Yes.

Gooseberries, which have been pickled.

Where are they going to appear on the plate?

Chopped up to give a little sweetness to the duck leg.

-And here?

-Bilberries.

With all the fat, are you doing anything in particular with that?

The fat from the duck is going to be used as a candle,

because they ate this in flickering candlelight.

It sounds like you've got your work cut out -

all sorts of flavours, plenty of scope.

It should be interesting and exciting - I like lots of flavours.

I am both interested and excited by this dish.

Good.

I love the story behind it.

But it's quite a big ask

to have maple syrup and gooseberries,

whisky...

She's also doing this candle with the duck fat.

Frances has got a lot on her plate.

I really hope she can pull this one out all the bag.

Having won the first two courses

with both complex cookery and clever use of props,

Paul and Frances are surprised at Colin's change of tack.

So, Colin, you said it's just a white plate,

no dramatic props?

It's a humble plate of food,

cooked with a great deal of skill.

Hopefully, that should be enough.

I'm running a different tactic today.

I'm going to bring a few props to the party, finally.

Hopefully, that'll give me a few more points. I need them.

Not as much as I do!

I'm very focused.

I've designed all my dishes around my story,

so I can't be worried about it.

I can admire other people's work,

but not be worried or envious.

Three points behind Colin, Paul is determined

to impress veteran Phil by telling a story on a plate.

I am going for a different approach.

I am going for the back home, away from the battlefield,

in the blackout, the Blitz.

That sort of mood there was then.

So, good old Northern fare, I hope.

He's preparing a rib of beef,

removing the bones to create an intense stock,

and using the eye for the main element of this dish.

But he's keeping his presentation a mystery,

until he's ready to serve.

I'm sticking with the same cooking,

but I'm adding a bit of theatre to it.

Paul's been telling us that he has a lot of theatre going on,

so it'll be fun to see what he does, won't it?

Also using beef is current leader Colin,

who's cooking his fillet in a water-bath

to serve on the side of his pithivier -

a French pie with a flat pastry bottom and decorative domed top.

It's a homage to his grandfather,

a stoker on a fuel supply ship on D-Day.

He was actually a very good cook,

and he used to love nothing more than a pie.

So I'm taking what he would do for me as a kid - his pie -

and I'm taking it to a different level.

So, it is really, Colin,

a bit like my toasted sandwich that never happened.

THEY LAUGH

Yeah, I hope not. I think...

I should think you do hope not!

FRANCES LAUGHS

It's a pie with a piece of meat on the side, and with no props.

Is it really going to hit the brief?

Is it really going to tell a story to people

if they didn't know who his grandfather was?

-Hello.

-How's it going?

-So, building the pithivier now.

-Yeah. Talk me through it.

We're going to have layers of beef and cabbage and carrots,

-spinach, beef, onions.

-OK.

And tell me about the jelly.

The jelly is from the cooking of the beef.

Eventually, it will melt down and glaze the insides.

What he's making is a bit of a dinky little thing.

It's looking a little bit neurotic and self-obsessed.

If you're going to do a pie,

it's got to be a pie with a capital P!

And, erm...I'm not quite sure that's what he's doing.

Like Colin, Frances' main course also has a family connection.

All week her menu has told the story of her father's wartime experiences.

Wouldn't it be funny if your grandfather

-was stoking my father's...?

-Yeah.

And they enjoyed a pie.

Imagine!

Today, her duck dish is inspired

by her father's post-D-Day meal in Normandy.

She's making pressed duck using breast and thigh meat, liver,

and Madeira-infused shallots.

And she's brought some of her father's war documents along for inspiration.

One is a personal message

from General Montgomery to the army at the time.

"To us is given the honour of striking a blow for freedom

"which will live in history.

"In the better days that lie ahead

"men will speak with pride of our doings.

"We have a great and righteous cause." That's wonderful.

-Well, it's what we are doing now.

-Yeah. Yeah.

So, I'm determined to do the memory of my father proud.

To create her menu, Frances has travelled to Arromanche in Normandy,

to retrace her father's footsteps.

A former engineer, he was involved in the design and construction

of the Mulberry docks -

temporary harbours developed to facilitate

rapid off-loading of cargo onto the beaches

during the Allied invasion.

As a captain in the war, Frances' dad wasn't just involved

in the logistics of the landings.

My father fought in Normandy on D-Day.

There was an enormous battle here on the beaches

and he lost his Colonel and many of the men attached to the second army.

Taking command, Frances' father and his troops pushed inland

and sought sanctuary at a monastery a few miles from the coast.

Following a similar route,

Frances travelled to Saint-Martin de Mondaye monastery

to meet Friar Joel.

-Hello.

-Ah.

During the war, the monastery doubled as a hospital

for injured troops from both the Allied and German forces.

I want to show you pictures from this period.

-Oh, how amazing!

-Yes.

You see here... The refectory.

-The place where they were...

-Oh, look!

-You have the same picture.

-Yes. Of course.

And...the beds where the soldiers...

Wounded soldiers are lying.

A safe haven for soldiers during the heavy fighting

which followed D-Day,

it's possible this monastery is where Frances' father

and his troops sheltered, eating the duck meal

she's reimagining for the competition.

Out of courtesy, he said to the Abbot,

may my men camp here in your grounds?

And he was surprised, when the Abbot said,

"Only if you have some whisky!"

-Oh, it's possible!

-Yes?

And, in return, the Abbot said, "You must dine with me tonight."

And there was an aristocrat count who lived nearby...

Yes. In the village near here.

Oh, you see?! This is amazing!

And he called to him,

and they came and they had a splendid meal.

And my father ate this meal.

The atmosphere and the candlelight...

And it was the most wonderful experience.

Inspired by her surroundings,

Frances was keen to recreate the dish

that was so fondly remembered by her father.

It feels very emotional to be

walking in my father's footsteps.

When I walked outside and saw the big gates and the long drive...

you can imagine him marching his soldiers up there.

Oh...!

Merci!

Oh... Very fine!

Very tasty, but very smooth.

That makes me happy. Thank you.

When I wrote the culinary journey around my father,

I relied, obviously, on my imagination.

And I've been thrilled to have the privilege

of looking around an area where my father could have been.

Oak runs through all of Frances' menu,

in honour of her father's oak-shaped wartime medal,

so she's smoking cream over oak chips to add to potato puree.

And she's not wasting any of the duck,

with an innovative use for the fat.

OK, tell me about your candles.

Very, very simple. Just drained off the duck carcass.

-OK.

-That's all. Nothing else.

-I was worried duck fat's not as solid as, say, beef dripping.

-No, no.

And how you'd get it to set into a candle, but looking forward to...

It's just something to use the fat with, really,

and demonstrate my story, which is they ate in flickering candlelight.

Yes. Good.

She's got a great idea with this candle.

It could be amazing if she pulls it off. If she doesn't...

It could just be, you know, fat in a bowl.

Paul's also using smoke in his dish

to represent the atmosphere of the Blitz,

smoking bone marrow that he will later breadcrumb and deep-fry.

Talk me through this.

Yes, I am just giving the second smoke now on the bone marrow.

-Second smoke?

-Yes.

-OK.

-I'm going to do it four times.

-What chip are you using?

-Apple wood. A bit more subtle.

I don't want to overpower the dish.

If he over-smokes it, then it just tastes harsh.

And he's currently on the second of four smokes,

so he may go a touch too far with the smoke.

Also taking a risk is Colin.

All week he's received high marks for technical dishes

and visual presentation.

Today he's stripping it all away

and serving a simple pie with baby vegetables and polenta.

Colin, quite a brave move - a pie for a banquet.

Well, you've got to be brave in these situations. It is wartime.

Do think that's going to keep you in the lead?

Well, I hope so.

I'm feeling the pressure.

This has got to be the best pie that Phil has ever eaten,

to get a good scores.

Just fingers-crossed it turns out the way it's meant to be.

Colin's first to plate up, and with no props to organise,

he simply has to put the finishing touches to his dish...

caramelising the fillet of beef in butter and thyme.

Very nice, Chef.

-Yeah.

-Are they rising to the occasion?

I hope so.

First on the plate is polenta,

followed by sliced fillet steak.

He cuts a slice out of the pithivier,

to show off the layers inside,

garnishes with baby turnips and onions,

adds braised ox-cheek reduction,

and the final touch is a red-cabbage gel.

There we go - Grandad's Posh Pie.

It's all in the eating, on this one.

There's no props whatsoever.

Fantastic. Come on, let's go and taste it.

Let's head straight for the pie.

The outside is nice and crispy,

but the inside, the base there... just a little bit...

-Thick.

-A little bit thick, and gone a bit soggy.

-Mm.

Erm... Yeah, I think there's room for improvement.

Probably trim it a bit.

Probably a bit leaner on the pastry.

Again, an Italian ingredient.

He had linguine in the second course,

polenta in this course.

Controversial.

The polenta... You could have just put a dollop of mash.

I like a little bit of texture in there.

-This is the red-cabbage puree.

-Mm.

I was a bit disappointed in that. It's just some dots.

What purpose it has on that dish I'm not too sure.

The red cabbage looks quite small

-but, actually, it's got quite...

-It's got a bit of power.

If you put too much on, it would dominate some components there.

Given what Phil has been preaching to us

about the grandeur of this banquet,

I don't think that is grand enough.

It is very restaurant-y.

Colin, is this dish going to keep you up front?

I've got a three-point lead, so it'd have to be a very poor show

if I was overtaken.

Let's give it a number then.

I'd like to go for a seven.

Is this the chink in the armour?

There's definitely a chance now.

-Here he is.

-Hi, Colin. How did you do?

He likes simple food. He likes well-cooked food, so...

In that respect, I hope I get a good score.

Trailing in last place,

Frances is next to plate up her dish - Seeking Sanctuary -

based on the wartime meal eaten by her father

at a Normandy monastery.

She starts by layering pressed duck and sliced duck breast.

A duck ball of shredded leg meat and gooseberries wrapped in chard

goes on the side.

Any special tricks on this one, Frances?

Well, why don't you wait and see.

Ooh!

Next it's pattypan yellow squash,

and smoked potato puree.

She garnishes with blueberries and bilberries, bitter cress

and a sprig of lavender.

Finally, she drizzles duck sauce over the dish,

and serves with her resourceful duck-fat candle.

-Another letter. And a medal.

-Yes.

That's my father's medal for fighting in the war.

"Dearest Sue. Landing on the beach, we faced extreme battle.

"My superior was killed.

"I took command of the unit, we secured the beachhead,

"and entered Normandy.

"We came across a monastery.

"I asked the abbot if my men might rest and set up camp.

"What a magnificent feast we had!

"Pressed duck, lavender, blueberry and wild leaf.

"We ate off lovely plates in flickering candlelight."

We have the candle.

We have the ingredients.

Let's go and eat.

Thank you.

The candle... The candle is the rendered duck fat.

I don't think she wants us to eat it, does she?

-Seasoned.

-Yeah, it is seasoned.

-I thought you might taste it!

-FRANCES LAUGHS

Let's try the duck breast.

You cooked it firstly in a water-bath?

Yes, I cooked it on a low temperature.

It definitely softens the texture of it.

The duck's beautiful.

Duck's lovely and tender.

-Very well cooked.

-Yep.

-So this is primarily the leg?

-Yes.

What am I get... I'm getting honey...

Yeah.

-And the gooseberries.

-Yes.

There's a flavour there, that's quite strange. What is it?

-Honey.

-Honey... Honey.

A bit overpowering.

So, this here is the offal.

It's the livers and hearts,

and a bit of thigh to bind it all together.

That's quite a nice little touch,

it gives that liver-y rich flavour to flaked duck meat.

And you're happy with the degree of smoking in the potato?

I think if I'd made it any stronger

it would've fought with my duck press.

Is it smoked?

Something oak-y?

Give it a mark?

I'm going to give it 10!

PHIL CHUCKLES

State your dreams.

It's a very well executed piece of cooking.

-It's certainly her strongest dish of the week.

-Yeah.

-So far.

I feel I have redeemed my reputation somewhat.

Last to plate up, and three points behind leader Colin, is Paul,

who's aiming to tell a story with his Blitz-inspired Blackout Beef.

At the last minute,

he heavily caramelises his rib eye using icing sugar,

and leaves to rest

while he plates vegetables

alongside his braised rib cap.

Paul's been keeping his presentation a closely guarded secret,

but Frances has spotted something.

Where did you find this, then?

Did you sort of pinch it off a wall, or something?

It's from an old shop in Yorkshire.

It's lovely.

That's really clever.

Next on, is the deep-fried bone marrow,

carrot puree, his caramelised rib eye,

and thinly sliced ox heart.

Then a final surprise ingredient - smoke underneath a glass cloche -

to evoke the sight and smell of the Blitz.

Having dimmed the lights, he serves the dish with Blackout Beer

and a lantern.

I can see the black on the beef,

I can see we've got the blackout created.

Come, let's go and taste it.

There we have your smoked bone marrow.

When you smell it, you get that smell, the flavour, taste...

-That's nice.

-Yes.

A little smoke.

Has that delivered the end result you were looking for?

Yeah, for me, you've got that nice caramel on the outside.

A little bit of bite there, which I was looking for.

It's brilliant beef.

Nice and sticky and moist - sumptuous.

The heart is there... What was the purpose behind the heart?

For me, it gives a nice earthy taste to it.

At the same time, it's like the heart of Britain on a plate.

It needs to be there.

-It's a really nice plate of food.

-Mm.

It's cooked wonderfully.

Produce is fantastic.

I'm not a drinker, so I can't partake in your...

In your Blackout Beer. But it certainly goes with the dish.

It's got a flavour that I think works perfectly.

It lends itself to the caramelising on the outside of the beef.

-Flavour in the beer's lovely.

-It is, actually, isn't it?

Wonderful dish!

This is the banquet main course, is it?

This is the first dish I came up with when I heard the brief.

It's the one I can really see being in St Paul's Cathedral.

Be absolutely fantastic.

The lights dimmed and people coming out with a lantern,

serving a wonderful plate of food...

-Yeah.

-Yeah, with a sip of beer.

-Give it a score.

-I'll have to say...er, nine.

OK.

I think it'll be a very strong nine.

What does he lose a point on, then?

I don't know.

I think we've all put fantastic main courses up today.

It's who's going to win?

We'll see what happens on the scores, but today it'll be close.

Hello, Chefs.

Colin, I'll start with you.

With Grandad's Posh Pie with beef and polenta.

The beef fillet was cooked well. It was delicious.

The red-cabbage puree was an unusual thing,

but I really liked it.

It gave it a little slap to the dish that it needed to.

I have to say, though, I think the pie wasn't quite as good

as I was kind of hoping it to be.

Actually, I think what you should have done is a big pithivier -

perhaps a sharing thing,

a magnificent thing,

that would have had more presence.

Frances, for your Seeking Sanctuary

of pressed duck with lavender and blueberries.

The story goes on, it's quite touching.

The way you presented it, with your props -

I could just see that going to the banquet.

And I also just liked the way you used the whole bird.

Wartime - use everything.

In terms of cooking,

I thought the little balls in chard

were just a little bit rough-and-ready.

The creamed potato and the little pattypans

they just needed a bit more attention to detail.

Having said that, the duck breast was spot-on

and the pressed liver was immaculately seasoned -

bundles of flavour.

Without a doubt, best cooking from you so far this week.

Paul, for your Blackout Beef

with rib, carrot and bone marrow -

first two courses were a little bit underwhelming

in terms of brief and delivery and flair.

What we really needed from you from the main course

was a banquet-worthy dish.

Technically, I thought every aspect was spot-on - the braised rib,

the meat from the rib eye, both immaculately executed.

Thoroughly delicious.

The heart - simple, tasty,

but actually what I liked the most about the heart was its...

Its kind of relevance.

The pride of Britain, heart of Britain.

I thought that was just fantastic.

The bone marrow was perfectly cooked,

and the theatrics... It was a dish that was nailed.

Absolutely nailed.

So, on to the scores.

Colin, for your Grandad's Posh Pie...

I'm going to give you a...

7 out of 10.

Frances, for your Seeking Sanctuary,

I'm giving you...

..not quite what you had hoped you might get, but a nine.

Paul, for your Blackout Beef,

I'm going to give you a score of...

10.

-It's a stunning dish.

-Thank you.

So, everything to go for. Thank you.

-Well done.

-This is the man - well done.

Very, very good dish.

Completely deserved.

With one course remaining,

Colin's lost his lead and been joined in first place by Paul,

with Frances only two points behind.

I'm thrilled with the nine.

Erm... I feel I'm back on track.

I feel disappointed that the lead I had has now gone,

I just need to make sure I deliver on my dessert.

Nailing a 10 has got me even more determined now

that I want to see that go to St Paul's Cathedral.

Tomorrow it's the dessert course,

and with two points separating the chefs, there's no room for error.

BLEEP

They're all under pressure to deliver...

..as only two can go through to cook their menus again for the judges.

Urrrhh...!