Northern Ireland Dessert Great British Menu

This week, three of Northern Ireland's finest chefs.

Richard Corrigan's protege, Chris McGowan...

I think you've got the same issues as me, like small man syndrome.

..eager young newcomer, Will Brown...

I'm going to really go for it today.

-..and returning finalist, Raymond McArdle...

-I am an amazing chef.

You are a legend.

..are fighting it out to get their dishes to a banquet

celebrating the 70th anniversary of D-day

at an iconic bastion of the Second World War,

the magnificent St Paul's Cathedral.

-Yesterday's main course...

-Where's all my pickle here?!

saw Will finally redeem himself

after disastrous starter and fish dishes.

It was a great bit of cooking today. You've done yourself proud.

-Thank you, Tom.

-For today's dessert, Will needs to play a blinder...

-It looks very colourful.

-A bit like myself.

-..and see one of his competitors fail...

-BLEEP

The jelly is just melting on this board.

Would it be fair to say you are feeling the heat?

-BLEEP

-I don't have time to stand and do this.

I'm worried about it, if I'm being brutally honest.

..as only two chefs will cook for the judges tomorrow.

Commiserations.

To honour the heroes who fought on D-day,

the chefs have been asked to create menus that evoke wartime memories

-and show how British cuisine has evolved ever since.

-Wow.

That is incredible.

For inspiration, they visited people and places that played

an integral role in the war.

Belfast faithfully fired all of her guns in support of the Canadian

-and British troops.

-Absolutely amazing.

Judging them all week is two Michelin star heavyweight

and two-time previous winner Tom Kerridge.

One of these three chefs is going to have to go home today.

Last day, boys. Last push.

And at the minute, it looks like it might be Will.

But you never know what happens on dessert day.

He might turn this right round, and shock the other two.

It's the biggest day of the week for me.

I have to pull something out of the bag that's fantastic

-and hope that one of yous two slip up.

-Are you throwing the sink at it?

Throw the whole kitchen at it.

-Just grab the whole kitchen up and wing it at it.

-Yep.

First up is eager new recruit, Will, in last place,

five points behind Chris,

but determined to stay in the competition.

I'm a positive young man,

and going into the dessert course I'm not going to be any different.

Today's all or nothing. I have to go in there and properly go for it.

-Morning, chef.

-Hello there, Will. How are we?

-Not too bad.

-I've got a big job ahead today.

-It's not all lost.

Yesterday you showed me that when you focus on the actual dish itself,

you're a very, very good cook.

-Thank you, Tom.

-So what's the dish called?

The dish is called Land Of Hope And Glory.

-I'm doing egg and soldiers, basically.

-OK.

Making up vanilla cream.

And then I'm making a mango egg yolk.

And I'm doing a strawberry tuile for the soldiers.

That's also going with a white chocolate and strawberry cannelloni.

I've also got some poppy seed meringues on there.

-Ascorbic acid.

-Yep. Sodium alginate.

This is for my spherification of the yolk.

-So, that is going to help make a mango egg yolk?

-It is indeed. Yes.

OK.

When I look at desserts, I normally look at cream, eggs, flour.

Yes, but the most important thing is that the main flavours on the plate

are absolutely spot on

and I execute this dish to perfection.

-I'm looking forward to it, Will.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

It's got some strawberries, he's making a parfait,

he's using vanilla.

These are all classic combinations that really should work well.

But there's also five and six little white tubs of magic powder.

I hope he can pull this off

and he's not got too many gimmicks and gadgets going on.

Next up is Richard Corrigan's head chef, Chris McGowan.

He's been snapping at Raymond's heels in second place all week

with his wartime slogan-inspired menu.

It's very important for me to get a good score.

If I'm going to go into Friday, I'd like to go in as the leader.

-Hello there, Chris.

-Hi, Tom.

-What have we got?

-Tell me.

The dish is called Can All You Can, an American wartime slogan.

During the war, exotic fruits became very rare.

So this is embracing, I suppose, all those fruits, giving people a treat.

Something they couldn't get. Exactly.

We've got pineapple, chilli, lime, rice pudding, coconut...

What are we doing with the pineapple?

I'm just going to kind of keep it really fresh, make a lime

and chilli syrup. And then I'm going to serve it in a can, really.

So, Will, we've got some lemongrass, and some chillies, and basil.

Think that's a little bit quirky?

Well, it's two flavours I haven't used in a dessert before.

So, good luck.

-That was very nice.

-That was very nice of him, yeah.

-He doesn't mean it!

-Deep down he's hoping

-you drop it on the floor, you know that?

-Yeah, yeah!

Chris's dish is going to be a massive celebration

of all the fruits

and delightful stuff you couldn't have during wartime.

But adding lemongrass, basil and chilli into the mix,

not sure it takes it more to a stir-fry.

Last up is returning finalist, Raymond McArdle.

He's held on to his lead despite forgetting to include

an integral element on his main course yesterday.

My battle plan is to make no mistakes.

The less he can take off me, the better.

And hopefully I'm still in the lead at the end of the pudding.

Hello there, young Ray. Confident? Out in the front?

-I'm not thinking about it.

-OK, so tell me your pudding.

-What's the name of it?

-It's called Homecoming.

-Talk me through it.

I have gingerbread and parsnip pudding

with mulled custard and brown butter ice cream.

So you're using fresh ginger?

-Yep.

-Parsnips?

-Yep.

During wartime they didn't have any kind of fruits, and exotic fruits,

so bananas were substituted for parsnips.

And that's where I got the idea.

The theme you have gone down all week this week -

- strong, solid, simple cooking -

is this going to be another one of those dishes?

-I think it's going to be the best one.

-Well, guys.

This is the course that's been the stumbling block for so many chefs.

I know you two guys are out in front.

One slip-up, and that young man there could be right on your heels.

-You know that, don't you?

-Yeah, we do. Yeah.

-Absolutely.

Will, if you keep focused, like you were yesterday

with the main courses, who knows what could happen, chief?

-Who knows, who knows?

-Good luck.

-Thank you, Tom.

-Thank you, Tom.

Ray's dish. Very simple title.

Sounds a very simple pudding.

Maybe the custard, maybe in an ice cream.

Is there too much stodge?

Is it a little bit too filling at the end of a meal?

We'll have to wait and see.

Cooking well under way, last year's Northern Ireland champion, Raymond,

recalls how the dessert course almost cost him

his place in the finals.

Last year my dessert didn't do so well. I got a five. Bombed.

-So I'm going to make sure this year that don't happen.

-Yeah.

For me, I want to try

and get to the judges' chamber with a good score, you know?

I'd love to be in the lead going in there.

I'm just going to really go for it today.

I have to get a high score here.

And I'm up for the challenge.

Eager newcomer Will is under no illusion

as to what he needs to make it through today.

I need to get a nine or a ten.

And I need these two to slip up. Simple as that.

For his elaborate dessert...

..he's doing a new twist on the old savoury classic, egg and soldiers,

and is busy making a whole range of strawberry elements...

..including tuiles as soldiers to complement his technical egg,

made up of vanilla cream and a mango yolk.

So how is this done?

I've got a mango, and a few solutions,

and I add it to another solution.

It comes together in a perfect yolk. I put this on top of my board.

In here there is a cut-out egg cup. This here, it is set with iota.

-What's iota?

-It is just a substitute for gelatine, really.

Why do you use it instead of gelatine?

For me, it's a better taste in the mouth than gelatine.

-Right, OK.

-It's not as firm.

Will's dish, there's lots of style. There's lots of potions and powders,

and he's got this mango puree that is set like an egg yolk

through different solutions, and then he's got a vanilla-y custard thing,

not set with anything that I know. It is set with something called iota.

You know, I really hope for Will's sake that he can pull this off.

Returning finalist Raymond's determined to make up

for last year's poor dessert score by breathing new life

into wartime pudding flavours.

He's making brown butter ice cream...

-It's just really thick and rich, you know?

-Yeah.

..and malt custard, to accompany his unusually flavoured cake.

-Ginger and parsnip pudding.

-Yep.

This recipe was used instead of bananas and berries

and stuff like that.

-So they replaced fruit with vegetables in their baking?

-Some.

It smells quite powerful a ginger.

-Yeah.

-Does it not overpower the parsnip?

-I don't think so.

Ray's puddings are out, and they smelt really powerful of ginger.

'But I tasted one of them,

'and you know what, the balance of flavour was fantastic.

'The parsnip was coming through.'

It'll be interesting to see if this really is his finest hour.

Desperate to finally catch up with Raymond is Chris.

He's kept it simple and classical, until today,

taking a risk pairing a coconut sponge, rice pudding ice cream,

pineapple jelly and fresh pineapple

with lemongrass, chilli and basil.

How are we doing there, chef?

Good, Tom.

-I'm doing the pineapple in a can.

-So this is a syrup made of...?

It's made of chilli, lime,

with a little bit of lemongrass and ginger in there.

OK. Have you got the balance right there

-with the lemongrass and the chilli?

-I think so.

'Chris's dish, at first, I was a little uncertain'

of the lemongrass and the chilli,

but he's poached that pineapple in a stock

that has such a beautiful balance.

It's very, very good.

So... A little lid. A little contraption. It's just like a vice.

And we want to do is just to kind of bend the can.

Wow. OK. So if I was to turn that upside down it wouldn't fall out?

-Sure?

-Go on.

That is pretty cool. I like that.

I was hoping that if I turned it upside down we'd have a catastrophe.

But we didn't.

And I think that's probably Will's only chance of catching up,

one of these two boys messing up.

And at the minute, it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

But Chris has just had a set back.

His rice pudding ice cream has split.

Come on, come on. Play the game.

To research his Can All You Can dish, London-based Chris

visited the battleship HMS Belfast on the River Thames.

He met up with Chief Yeoman Kevin Price.

-Welcome on board HMS Belfast.

-Thank you. Thanks for having me today.

Although it's now a museum, the ship launched on St Patrick's Day in 1938

and was part of the Second World War naval effort.

-What was its involvement in D-day?

-She played a significant part.

She was the bombardment commander for the Eastern Sector,

and at 0530 on 6th June, Belfast faithfully fired all of her guns

in support of the Canadian and British troops going ashore.

Absolutely amazing.

Belfast would have carried a crew of around 950,

and they all had to be fed.

Right then, Chris. Your domain.

-Bit different to what you're used to.

-Exactly, yeah.

It's more spacious than I thought it would be.

How many chefs would have been in here?

Oh, I would say between 25 and 30.

-But not all at one time, cos they would have been in shifts.

-Yeah.

Would there be a large designated area for fresh food,

or would it all be canned?

Refrigeration was limited, and it wasn't as efficient as it is today.

So, yeah, a vast majority would have come from a can.

For my dessert, I'm kind of thinking of using that canning element

and maybe putting some fresh fruit in a can.

For the veterans that we speak to, fruit was always a nicety to have.

That was a real treat.

But what will Kevin think of the modern addition

of chilli and lemongrass?

-Do you like spice?

-I'm not a...mmm...

-OK.

-..we'll see how it goes!

-OK, let's see what you think, then.

-Let's see what you think.

-I'm going to go big.

-Yeah, go big.

You can really taste that.

-Not in a bad way...

-Yeah.

And I was expecting the warmth of the chilli.

-But it really strangely complements it, I think.

-Yeah. Thank you so much.

-Hopefully it's a winning dish.

-All the best.

-Thank you.

When something has such a profound effect on the war,

and certainly on D-day,

it makes me feel very proud to be Northern Irish.

It's part of our history. It's amazing.

And to find out more is fantastic. It's inspiring, really.

With plating up fast approaching, there are more problems for Chris.

His pineapple jelly can't cope with the hot kitchen.

-BLEEP

-The jelly is just melting on this board.

So would it be fair to say you're feeling the heat?

Do you have a book of one-liners, Ray?

Cos if you have, I'm going to buy it, mate.

Boom boom!

Hold on, hold on.

But it's no joke, as his ice cream hits another stumbling block.

-BLEEP

-I don't have time to stand and do this.

This ice cream machine is very slow.

I'm worried about it, if I'm brutally honest.

That's it. This is ready now.

It's put him under pressure, as he is first to plate up.

He can't afford to fall at the last hurdle,

as his Can All You Can wartime slogan dessert

with canned fruit and rice pudding ice cream

has hit plenty of problems so far.

I'm running around like a lunatic, mate.

And you're sitting there. Is your dessert absolutely ready to go,

-finished, done, dusted, rock'n'roll?

-I am an amazing chef, man.

-You are a legend.

-Are you ready to go?

-Ray, when I grow up I want to be like you.

-I don't blame you, mate.

Chris starts his plate with coconut sponge and dots of lime curd,

then adds a passion fruit and citrus mousse.

So is your personality as sweet as this dessert?

Ray, do you know what,

I'm definitely going to buy that book of one-liners from you, mate.

Next, Thai baby basil...

..pineapple jelly,

and the problematic rice pudding ice cream wrapped in a pineapple tuile.

Finally, cans of lemongrass and chilli-marinated pineapple

on the side.

Well done, Chris. Dish is up. Is victory going to be yours?

I hope so, I really do. I put everything into it today.

I'm hoping it delivers.

OK. Well, there's something frozen on here. You take that.

I'll take my little tin. You guys get on and enjoy that.

Does this tell a story? Is it worthy, is it celebratory for a banquet?

I think so.

It will remind them of those days, using ingredients

that would have been familiar with them at the time,

like the rice pudding.

RAYMOND: Does this dish make you proud to be British?

-Is pineapple, coconut, lime British?

-No.

-Well, then maybe not.

TOM: So, the spice levels in the pineapple,

-are you happy with the balance?

-For me, yes.

I was a wee bit worried about the chilli in it,

but it's actually not offensive.

So, that rice pudding ice cream...

I've made the rice pudding separate, then when the ice cream

has come out of the machine, folded the rice pudding in.

-I think the rice needs to cook more.

-A little bit.

-And then here, what have we got?

-This is just a little citrus mousse.

Maybe it's just my taste, you know? I'm not a big fan of lemon curd.

A coconut sponge. Can you taste the coconut enough?

Yeah, I do.

I don't get enough coconut off that.

I don't get much coconut off it either, to be honest.

Chris, do you think you've done enough to get through to tomorrow?

I hope so.

I prefer my dish to that.

-How did you get on?

-Well?

-I think he loved it.

-I think that could be a ten, boys.

-Is that right?

I don't know.

We couldn't read the man all week, for God's sake.

What makes you think I'll be able to read him now?

-You had me worried there.

-I don't know.

-More importantly, what did YOU think of it?

-I'm not telling you.

-OK!

Will's up next.

He must deliver a knockout with his mango,

egg and strawberry soldiers dish, Land Of Hope And Glory.

But his strawberry and white chocolate cannelloni

is melting in the heat of the kitchen.

-First on his plate is poppy seed meringue.

-It looks very colourful.

-A bit like myself, Raymond.

-Yeah!

Next, fresh strawberry.

The mango egg yolk tops his vanilla cream, set with iota.

Then, strawberry marshmallow.

Finally frozen, his strawberry and white chocolate cannelloni goes on.

He finishes the plate with his soldiers,

shards of strawberry tuile.

Land Of Hope And Glory. Does this make you proud to be British?

-I think so, yeah.

-OK.

-Shall we take it through before everything melts?

-Yeah.

-All right.

You think that tells the story of Land Of Hope And Glory?

I suppose if somebody set that down in front of somebody and said,

this is the Land Of Hope And Glory, he'd be probably struggling.

I don't think it hits the brief.

Yeah, reading the egg and soldiers, I'd struggle to see that there.

TOM: Do you think there's enough white chocolate flavour

coming through there?

Yeah.

I like the mousse. I think the mousse is lovely.

TOM: The strawberry jelly, is it too thick, too thin?

It was difficult to get it because it's so hot in there.

Usually you have a cold pastry larder.

-For me, the jelly is too thick on the cannelloni.

-Yep.

-And that custard is just as you wanted it?

-It's very light.

-I mean, you have to say, it's just set.

-Yep.

-TOM: Are you pleased with the way this dish has turned out?

-Um...

-Pretty much with what's gone on there, yes.

-OK.

-There'll be certain things there that he'll not be happy with.

-Yeah.

-It's not as polished as he would like it to be.

-Yeah.

TOM: Do you think you've done enough to get through for tomorrow?

One can hope he's done enough, you know?

He can pray that he's done enough.

Score for me? Six.

I'd give him a seven for that.

-Hi, you guys.

-How do you think you got on?

-Same old story, I've got no idea.

-Do you think you've done enough?

-Tom wasn't giving anything away. I just hope he's enjoyed it.

-Yep.

Last up is current leader, Raymond.

With his wartime flavoured dessert of gingerbread and parsnip pudding

with malt custard and brown butter ice cream.

So, Ray, I've sent my desserts.

I can give you as much stick as I want.

Yeah, I'm loving it, man.

Do you think you got the same issues as me, small man syndrome?

Well, I'm slightly taller.

It's the coiffure you've got that gives you the height.

Are you allowed to say, "We jockeys have big whips"?

Raymond starts with sweet chestnut puree

and grated parsnip...

Would you say this is your strongest dish, Ray?

-I...I don't know about that, but it's the one I like.

-Yeah.

..then adds his gingerbread and parsnip pudding,

fills miniature jerry cans with malt custard,

and puts brown butter ice cream in helmets.

Last dish up. Is it your finest hour on a plate?

-Yeah, I like this one.

-Feel good about this one?

I feel good about this one.

So, this is a nod to World War II. The jerry can.

Do you think it tells a story?

I think it definitely tells a story, with the presentation,

and the ingredients.

I think it does meet the brief, the parsnip in the cake.

I think it's very clever.

Because in wartime they used to sweeten the cakes with the parsnip.

TOM: The cake, do you think that's OK?

Yeah, that's what I was looking for.

-CHRIS:

-There's not enough sweetness there for me, in the cake.

-Brown butter ice cream.

-Yeah.

-The richness in the mouth, is that what you were looking for?

-Yeah.

This ice cream is an absolute disaster in my eyes.

He's put butter on top of cream, and turned it.

And it kind of tastes like it's quite fatty.

Can you taste the chestnut in that caramel?

I don't think you're going to get a mad amount of it, but it is there.

So, as a dish, altogether, do you think it has the right balance?

I think it has.

I don't really know what to make of this dessert. It needs sugar.

-For me, it's...

-Almost savoury.

-It's almost savoury.

Do you think you have the enough to get through to Friday, Ray?

I think I have.

-What would you give him?

-A five.

-I'd be going four, five, as well.

Yep.

-Well, Ray?

-How did you get on?

-I think he liked it.

-Really?

Honestly, I didn't get it, mate. I just didn't get it.

But it's Tom's opinion that counts.

It's been a tough day for the three of us.

I've got a lot to bring back here.

I really hope that I can fulfil and stay here tomorrow.

And have my dish at the judges.

-How is everyone doing?

-OK.

-All over.

I'm going to start with you, Ray. For your Homecoming.

The idea of it being a recipe from wartime was a great one.

The cake was executed beautifully.

For me, the parsnip and the ginger, they really, really worked.

The taste was phenomenal.

It was a great representation of great British flavours

during the war.

But...

the brown butter ice cream, very rich.

The chestnut tuile, I couldn't taste the chestnut.

Chris.

For your Can All You Can, capturing the excitement of the exotic food

of post-war Britain, I thought was a real brilliant idea.

The rice pudding ice cream, it was excellent.

The tinned pineapple,

at first I was a little worried about the balance of flavours.

Lemongrass and lime and chilli. But you really did pull that one off.

The subtlety was very, very good.

But...

The pineapple tuile around the ice cream,

it just didn't taste of anything.

The coconut sponge,

it was overpowered by all the other flavours going on in the dish.

For me, this wasn't really a representation of what you do best.

Will. For your Land Of Hope And Glory.

The white chocolate parfait was good.

The strawberry tuiles were very nice and crispy.

The sorbet was very clean, the flavours sharp.

However, the egg and the soldiers...

I just don't understand how that fitted the brief.

Soldiers I always associate as toast.

Standing two fruit shards of tuile doesn't make a soldier to me.

The iota you used to set the vanilla panna cotta,

you said to me was better than gelatine.

I'm afraid I disagree.

So, the scores.

With a score of nine for their dessert,

giving them the highest score across the week,

is Ray.

For Homecoming, and gingerbread and parsnip pudding.

Ray, you're through to the judges. Well done. Some great cooking.

-Well done, Ray. Well done.

-Thank you.

So, two chefs left. And only one can go through.

Chris, for your Can All You Can...

..I'm giving you a seven.

And Will, for your Land Of Hope And Glory...

..I'm giving you a four.

There were fingerprints in my marshmallow.

For a professional chef to send that out to anybody

is unforgivable.

-Chris, you're going through to the judges.

-Well done, Chris. Good man.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks a lot.

-Well done, lads.

Raymond and Chris will cook for the judges tomorrow,

but Will is heading home.

-Will, I'm very sorry.

-Thank you. Thank you, chef.

Massive love for you, for the enthusiasm,

for the energy that you brought to this kitchen.

Yeah, well I've had a great week. Great experience being here.

I think the environment has got to me a bit.

Good luck to these two men in the judge's chamber,

and I wish them all the best.

'Am I gutted?

'Anyone would be, you know?'

But you learn from these mistakes. You know what I mean?

You come back stronger.

-Go in there tomorrow and...

-Smash it.

Cook your socks off, boys. Because yous both deserve it.

I'm delighted. I'm absolutely over the moon.

It will be tough tomorrow.

'Now it's just a case of coming in here tomorrow

'and just make it all happen, and hope that'

I can get past the judges.

Tomorrow, it's the end of the line for either Raymond or Chris.

-I've got to get this spot-on.

-I'll tell you what they WILL get,

they'll get a great plate of food.

As they cook their entire menus again for our panel of judges.

I do think this is absolutely delicious.

There's nothing original about it, it's a meat and two veg, and gravy.

And find out who will go forward to represent Northern Ireland in the national finals.

The winner is...