Banquet Great British Menu

It's finally here.

Woo!

The banquet has arrived for our winning chefs.

Go, go, go, guys, yeah?

It's the culmination of months of hard work as the final four

strive to reproduce their winning dishes...

All right, swap.

..for a commemorative banquet

honouring the heroes that fought on D-Day 70 years ago.

It's something that really touches your heart, just to look at them.

At the magnificent St Paul's Cathedral,

an iconic bastion of British wartime resilience.

The victorious chefs must now deliver

their finest culinary hours on a plate...

With the veterans in mind, they sacrificed so much for us,

I can't serve anything that's not right.

..and serve a meal to remember for the nation's war heroes...

Absent friends.

..hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Our generation hasn't had to do anything

like what your generation did.

I haven't felt pressure like this...

Adam's modern-day ration pack...

Emily's Normandy beach scene...

James' Blitz-inspired sharing platter...

and Colin's honorary chocolate medal.

With a banquet hall full of expectant guests...

-Adam, is all the veal in, mate?

-Ow.

Five minutes for main course, what's the chance of that?

Not a chance in hell, really.

..will the chefs deliver a tribute

worthy of our courageous D-Day veterans?

# Remember those who made it so

# On the shores of Normandy. #

With 36 hours before the war heroes arrive,

the four winning chefs are on their way to St Paul's Cathedral.

It's an unbelievable feeling to be here at the banquet,

and to be doing it for D-Day, the war veterans... You know,

my own grandpa, who served in the war - it's just a great honour.

I'm very, very excited to be here.

-Morning.

-Morning.

This banquet is probably the most important to me.

My grandfather was involved in the actual D-Day landings.

It's very special indeed,

so I really want to make sure that I do everyone proud, including myself.

The brief has a lot of family connections, obviously.

You know, my wife's grandad was on the beaches of D-Day,

and it's a massive honour to actually be here,

and I'm really excited to get cracking, really.

I'm really excited about it.

The occasion, and where it is.

It's phenomenal, you know?

Here we are, then.

It's a big old place, innit?

-How are you doing, guys?

-How are you?

-Hi, James.

-Hi, are you all right?

-How are you doing?

-Good, and you?

-Yeah, very well.

So, it's not all about the competition any more.

It's all about the veterans and their families, isn't it?

And the venue - it speaks for itself.

It's a very special place.

I think, you know, it's very fitting for this brief to honour

the war veterans and all the family members who have sacrificed their...

-Yeah.

-Let's go and do it. Let's go and cook.

-Shall we have a look?

-Yeah.

-Group hug!

-Hello.

-Morning.

-Morning.

-Welcome to St Paul's.

I'm Michael Hampel, I'm one of the canons of St Paul's.

-Do come in.

-Thank you.

-Wow.

-Welcome.

-It's quite a staircase, don't you think?

-Beautiful.

Wow!

Let's go up.

Come on, follow me.

St Paul's is one of London's most iconic places of worship.

It became a symbol of the nation's indomitable spirit during the Blitz.

Miraculously escaping major damage despite 28 bombs falling on it

thanks to a group of volunteers called the St Paul's Watch,

who protected the Cathedral night after night.

Wow.

Pretty unique view for you here, guys.

Unbelievable.

And, of course, one that the public don't get to see,

so you're in a very special position,

and this is a perfectly fitting place for tomorrow night's banquet,

because the association of St Paul's with the Second World War

is so strong.

It's quite a humbling experience just to be stood here and seeing it.

-Amazing.

-Absolutely beautiful.

It leaves you speechless, doesn't it, just to look at it?

Yeah.

To better understand what the D-Day veterans went through,

Adam, who's cooking the starter course,

travelled to Sword Beach in Normandy

to meet banquet guest of honour Ken Sturdy,

one of the heroes who landed on the beaches 70 years ago.

-Lovely weather(!)

-Oh! This was just like D-Day, you know?

-Really?

We had a real storm.

In fact, it was so bad, they almost called off the invasion.

-Really?

-Yeah.

This is Sword Beach. I landed just along here, behind me to the left,

and where we're standing - now, of course, it's a nice beach,

with beach houses here -

but it was bomb craters, shell holes, it was chaos.

The noise, when you landed, it must have been deafening.

Coming over your head you'd got shell fire.

And those big shells rumble over your head

rather like an express train.

The main thing was to get off the beach,

because the enemy had the range of the beach.

But once we were off the beach, we were into mine fields.

So you were between the devil and the deep blue sea, almost.

I was scared, we were all scared,

but you did what you did because you were trained to do it -

-you didn't want to let your mates down.

-Yeah.

But the death toll of D-Day was quite immense, you know?

It's indescribable.

Yeah.

D-Day was the liberation of Europe,

and the cost was what we're looking at here.

-The ages...

-Yeah.

-Look at the ages of these boys.

You're quite right, Adam.

A lot of these lads were 18 or 19.

These chaps here,

they never had that gift of life in the way that I have had.

So when I look across here, it's a feeling, really, I suppose,

of extreme sadness.

There's no other way to describe it.

It is something that really touches your heart. Just look at them.

Meeting Ken has been truly inspirational.

What he must have gone through is astonishing.

It is very moving and very touching and upsetting at the same time.

So it gives a real purpose of why we're doing a banquet -

to honour the people that fought for our country

to make what we have better.

But it's also about the people that didn't make it back.

For me, to kick off such an occasion

at St Paul's Cathedral, for these guys...

words can't explain it.

The Cathedral will remain open to the public

until guests arrive tomorrow.

Dinner will take place downstairs in the crypt,

which must be transformed from a cafe into a banqueting space.

On first glimpse, the chefs' thoughts turn to their VIP guests.

Ken's coming.

You know, he's the veteran that I spent some time with,

and to be in his company was just phenomenal.

-Yeah.

-And you, Emily?

-It's quite amazing.

Yeah, my mum's coming.

It was my mum's dad who served in the navy during World War II.

I think I'm interested to see who's coming who we don't know,

cos normally in the banquet they invite dignitaries

or some people who we would recognise

that would be a poignant part of this banquet.

Well, actually, funnily enough,

last week I got invited to 10 Downing Street.

-Did you really?!

-Did you?

-Yes, yes.

So we've got David Cameron, the Prime Minister,

he's going to be here, hosting.

-Is he really?

-Never!

-Tomorrow night.

-Is he, really?

-Yes. So, the pressure's on now.

We're not only cooking for the veterans,

we're cooking for the Prime Minister.

I can't believe you were keeping that up your sleeve. Amazing.

-Kept that quiet.

-Yeah!

Newcomer James Durrant's veal main course

is inspired by the country pulling together during the Blitz,

a fighting spirit instilled by Winston Churchill,

who made many of his decisions in the same place they're made today.

I never expected in a million years to be stood here

outside Downing Street.

When we started the competition, fingers crossed,

I was hoping I would get to the banquet.

Amazingly, I did,

and even more blown away that I'm about to meet the Prime Minister.

It's an amazing experience.

Churchill was the one who created the spirit of Britain,

believing in our country,

and that's what my main course is all about.

It's about Britain being united as one and fighting together.

Hi, James, welcome to Downing Street.

-How are you?

-Great to have you here. Brilliant.

Come and have a look where the great man sat

and made all these important decisions.

-Thanks.

-Erm...

So, this is the Cabinet Room.

-Mm-hm.

-And this is the Cabinet table where everybody sits.

-Yeah.

So, this was the room in May 1940 where Churchill,

surrounded by his colleagues,

made that vital decision to fight on against Hitler.

-That Britain wouldn't give in.

-Yeah.

Probably one of the most important decisions ever made in this country.

Right here in this room,

with Churchill sitting right there in this chair.

There's one other place I want to show you

that Churchill loved to go to during the war.

I've never seen it,

I'm not sure anyone else has really been up there.

But we're going to go and have a look.

During the Blitz, Churchill's Cabinet was based at the War Rooms

beneath the Treasury.

So, this is apparently the roof

where Churchill used to like to come out and stand and watch

while the bombs were coming down.

And apparently it drove his staff mad,

because they'd say, "You've got to get into the air raid shelter."

He wanted to come out here,

because he wanted to see the damage that was being done,

but he also liked to see the anti-aircraft gun batteries firing,

and he could see the House of Commons and he could look down

across the south of the river, and out towards the city as well.

Yeah. Yeah, the bravery of himself

and everyone at that time was just outstanding, really. I mean...

-I gather you had some relatives who fought in the Second World War.

-Yes.

My wife's grandad, he was on the D-Day landings,

one of the first on the beaches.

Again, the bravery, it just bowls you over, really.

I had a grandad, he was called William Mount,

and he was wounded just after D-Day. He landed on the beaches too.

-Amazing things that generation did.

-Yeah.

They had to put their lives on the line for freedom.

You know, it makes you think.

I've had an amazing day, an overwhelming day, really.

I think it's really interesting to find out that the Prime Minister

had his grandfather there, fighting on D-Day,

as well as my wife's grandad.

You know, it just shows that people from all walks of life were there

to fight for the country, and they did it because they had to, you know?

Back at St Paul's, judges Oliver Peyton

and Matthew Fort have come to lend a hand.

-Hello!

-Good to see you.

With mountains of prep to do,

the chefs were hoping to start work straightaway.

But they're yet to see the existing kitchen facilities.

-Hello, chefs!

-Hello! How are you?

-What an amazing place.

What an amazing place.

-Good to see you.

-Fantastic.

So, now that you're all feeling good,

I'm sure there's one more place you'd really love to see, right?

-That's correct!

-The kitchen.

Is this it?!

-I sincerely hope not!

-Where's yours, Adam?

Well, what do you make of it?

It's cosy.

-Listen, you've got a hob over there...

-A hob.

You've got a blancher there.

I don't think we can even fit the stock pots onto there.

We do have a plan...

..because we're going to build a kitchen just out there.

Obviously the Cathedral's in operation,

you've got services going on, you've got opening and closing times,

so we have a very narrow window of opportunity

to actually make and produce this kitchen and to get everything ready,

so I'm going to clear all the tables and chairs,

so you can take off all those nice ties and all that nice kit now,

and let's get on with it. Come on.

EMILY: Slight technical issue

in the fact that there is no kitchen at the moment,

and we need to start building it from scratch

is a slight worry, to say the least.

We've got two convection ovens, two solid tops...

There's a lot of work here.

There was obviously a sense of shock when they saw the space,

and an even greater shock when they realised

they were going to have to actually build their own kitchen.

-JAMES:

-Time is of the essence, without a doubt.

Up until that kitchen's built, we're kind of at the mercy of it, really.

-Forward?

-Yeah, forward.

Bring it back. Ooh!

By late afternoon, there's still no working kitchen,

and the chefs are starting to feel the pressure.

There's two or three fundamental jobs that I need to get done today.

Like freeze-drying your parfait.

Yeah. If that's not in today, forget it.

-We're all under the cosh, aren't we?

-Yeah.

That's what it boils down to.

How long is it going to be, gents?

-Hour.

-Hour?

It's not the answer the chefs were hoping for,

but with evensong about to start upstairs,

they decide to join the congregation...

ORGAN PLAYS

..and take the opportunity to experience the best of St Paul's.

EMILY: It's just absolutely spectacular up there,

and to come to St Paul's Cathedral and not go to a service

would just be awful.

Emily Watkins' winning fish course

is inspired by her maternal grandfather...

There he is.

..who served in the navy and spent two years in a prisoner of war camp.

These are his medals he got during the war.

That's amazing.

Emily's mum June knows a little about his time there,

learned from her mother and a visit to his POW camp in Italy.

This pencil sketch was done by one of the other prisoners.

It's amazing that he managed to keep hold of it, as well.

-He...

-Yes. On Red Cross paper.

But, like many World War II veterans,

he seldom spoke of his experiences.

So, to gain a better understanding of what wartime life was like

for her grandfather,

Emily went to see banquet guest of honour Molly Rose...

-Hello!

-Hello, Emily.

..who flew Spitfires for the Air Transport Auxiliary

during the war, while her husband commanded tanks on the front line.

We were ferrying aircraft from the factories

to the various squadrons, eventually.

It was during this time that Molly got some devastating news.

A letter from a friend of ours in the regiment,

who wrote to me and said that he'd seen Bernard's tank blow up,

and there was no way that anyone could have got out of it alive.

But Molly refused to believe that her husband was dead,

and kept up her duties, flying for six long weeks

until she had a postcard from a prisoner of war camp

that confirmed Bernard was alive.

You were so young!

You were flying planes and you were being so brave and doing so much,

it's extraordinary.

I don't think it was a question of being brave.

At that time, you know,

we all knew that we had got our backs to the wall,

and everyone was doing the maximum they could for their country.

She's amazing, Molly.

She's a great example of the brave, courageous lives

which they led during the war, without even a backward glance.

It's making me more and more excited to cook at the banquet,

and they deserve so much for their bravery

and everything which they've done for our generation.

Early evening, and the chefs can finally get cooking.

We have a kitchen!

It's in.

All they need now is their ingredients.

So, we've got the ovens, got the space -

just need to get cooking, now.

The chefs might be up and running,

but the late start has had a knock-on effect

on all of their dishes.

We have got to do things before we go home tonight,

or else tomorrow there is no menu.

The veal for James' Blitz-inspired main course must be butchered.

How are you doing, James?

I've got to get me cheeks on tomorrow.

There's no way I'm going to get them cooked in time tonight,

and I don't want to rush them.

I'm trying to get as much as we can done tonight,

just to make my day a little bit more straightforward tomorrow.

Emily has dozens of scallops to shuck

for her Normandy-inspired fish course.

I'm just concentrating on trying to keep calm.

Keep calm and carry on, isn't that what they used to say?

I love this dish, so I just want to do it justice

and make sure it's absolutely perfect for all the guests,

including our Prime Minister.

Adam has the most to do

for his technical chicken ration pack starter.

-The parfait is in bags.

-Yeah.

-And then that can go into the water bath.

-Yes.

Chicken thighs going into brine.

-How long are you brining them for?

-Should be four hours.

Genuinely, I am completely up against it. Even now.

As is Colin,

who has four complex layers to make for his decadent chocolate medal.

It's just time.

Got lots of components to this medal.

The sponge, the medal, the mousse... the chocolate.

-These are the chocolate sheets that I've got to do.

-Yeah.

"Good luck from all the girls." That's the girls at home.

-Sticking notes in everywhere.

-Yeah.

-As they do.

-Lovely.

Colin's winning dessert is inspired by the Dickin Medal,

an honour awarded to animals for their bravery during the war.

-Wow.

-Woo!

The whole family is animal lovers.

We have dogs, we have cats, we have goats, sheep, pigs.

Some for eating. Some are for petting.

That's why I chose to pay homage to the animals in the war -

because they played a huge part in the wars,

and that's why I think it really fits the banquet.

It's Colin's third time in the competition,

having made it to the banquet two years ago,

but failed on his last attempt.

He sometimes wins and sometimes not, but he always tries.

I'm actually very, very proud of Daddy

being in the banquet again with his dessert.

Our daddy's desserts are very, very tasty.

Colin's initial inspiration was the pigeon Gustav,

who was given the Dickin Medal for flying across the Channel

with news of D-Day's success.

I did a lot of research about pigeons,

but I found a video that shows how we used to use dogs in the war.

You won't believe it.

They're in a plane...

-THEY LAUGH

-Guess what they're going to do.

-Parachute...

-Oh, my goodness!

THEY GASP

-Oh, my...

-Look at the tail!

Oh, my goodness!

And then...boom!

I'm sure they saved loads of lives.

Amazing! Oh, my God!

The Dickin Medal was awarded to 18 dogs for bravery during the war,

including Bing, an Alsatian who supported the troops on D-Day.

Colin has chosen to honour these forgotten heroes

with his dessert, as well as people like his grandfather,

who also served on D-Day.

They volunteered their lives to go and fight the war,

and that's why it's quite special for me

to be able to cook for people like Grandad who are still alive.

I really wish Grandad was there.

Yeah, me too. He will be there, huh?

He will be there.

Back at St Paul's, having had to build their temporary kitchen,

the chefs are behind schedule.

Adam, how are you doing?

Yeah, I'm OK!

I'm still in the mire.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-But it's coming under control.

The parfait's still not in the oven yet.

How long, actually, do you need, then, tonight?

Let's say an hour and ten minutes to cook,

then probably 25-45 minutes to get it cooled down, at a push.

Ooh.

So, I'm going to be finished about 10:15.

I don't think you're going to be on your own -

I think we're all going to be here by the sounds of it.

What do they say in the Musketeers?

-All for one and one for all?

-That's it.

-There you go.

-Team spirit.

That's the fighting spirit.

If there's one thing driving the chefs forward,

it's the family members who inspired their menus.

It's nice to have them in mind, isn't it?

-Doing this kind of thing.

-Yeah, of course.

Yeah, no, course it is. Yeah.

Those poor chefs,

I don't think they were thinking of coming to St Paul's Cathedral

having to build their own kitchen, and at the end of the first

day of our two-day stint, now just to be starting prep.

I'm wondering, are the chefs going to be here all night?

The Cathedral has got to close sometime,

-so they'll have to be out by then.

-Yeah.

This is probably going to be one of the big key days in their life,

and has to be perfect.

EMILY: Half these are dead.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Emily has a problem.

Her cockles are too small, and not up to banquet standards.

Are they all right, them cockles?

They are the crappest cockles I've ever seen.

The more you look at them, the worse they get.

Well, there's plenty here to do the broth,

-but I don't they're going to be lovely, lively juicy ones.

-Yeah.

-Presentation-wise, and that's what I'm concerned about.

-Yeah.

If I remember rightly, your cockles were a bit of a show stopper.

-They were lovely, weren't they?

-Yeah, they were outstanding.

I'll just have to get some more in for tomorrow.

Hopefully.

In desperation, she calls her trusted local supplier.

Please could I order for tomorrow as many cockles as you've got available?

Emily's not the only one feeling the pressure.

That's split.

I need another tureen mould, please.

Adam's modern ration pack starter

centres around a dehydrated chicken liver parfait,

which he must cook and freeze-dry tonight

to achieve the right texture.

I've got to get these in the oven.

There's no ifs and buts. They've got to go in the oven.

-Dave.

-Yeah?

Where's the hot water, please? I need to get two in.

Can I have the hot water, please?

I haven't felt pressure like this...

I need the hot water.

What are you lot doing to me?

Now I'm stressing.

Adam's parfaits are finally in the oven, but they're not setting.

I just turned it up to 150. It's a different oven,

-and I don't know how...

-Yeah, there's hot spots.

It's taking twice as long on the bottom shelf as the top shelf.

-Hot spots.

-Do you want to swap them round?

Worse still, Adam's just discovered

that St Paul's is due to shut in less than an hour,

which means he won't be able to finish his parfait here.

-Got a

-BLEEP

-problem.

-I've got a

-BLEEP

-problem as well.

-Go on.

-My problem is that we've got to be out by 10:00.

-Yeah.

-And I can't get my parfait done.

His only option is to find another kitchen to work in overnight.

I'm completely up against it.

It's a good job I've got a sense of humour,

otherwise I'd be in a corner crying somewhere.

With Adam's starter hanging in the balance,

James calls his old boss, Great British Menu veteran Jason Atherton.

I'll pass you on here.

Hello, mate.

Yeah, good. And you? Is that all right, Jase?

Thank... Thank... Thank you.

We're coming down to Pollen Street, are we?

OK, thanks, Jase.

With less than half an hour until St Paul's closes,

the chefs need to finish what they're doing.

So, it's pretty much kick-out time.

At the moment I've got my sponges made, I've got my jelly made,

and that's it.

Tomorrow I've got my mousse, my feuilletine, my glacage,

ice cream cones, ice cream...

..melted chocolate for the tops and raspberries.

So, quite a lot to do tomorrow.

Aah!

For now, James, Emily and Colin can do no more.

BELL TOLLS

But for Adam and his freeze-dried chicken liver parfait,

it's going to be a long night.

It's banquet day.

With only hours until the guests arrive,

Adam's heading back to the kitchen, having worked on his parfait

until half past one in the morning.

I've got a lot of work still to do in the kitchen.

And if I don't get it done, the end result is going to be catastrophic.

It's about honouring the veterans,

so for me to push that little bit harder

to make sure it's done properly, that's what you have to do.

His fellow chefs aren't far behind.

Can you believe we're actually going to be cooking in there?

-For the Prime Minister in St Paul's Cathedral...

-In a temporary kitchen.

In a temporary kitchen!

At least there is a kitchen now.

While the chefs head off to continue their prep,

a team of helpers are working on transforming the crypt of St Paul's

into a dining room befitting the occasion.

What time do you call this?!

How are you getting on? Have you got most of it done?

No. The parfait's OK.

How are you looking for today?

-Loads to do.

-Got a lot to do.

Loads to do.

Loads to do.

Ow.

With Emily still waiting for more cockles to arrive,

she's using the ones she rescued yesterday for her cockle consomme.

They're small enough for my broth.

Just waiting on those nice ones to come in this afternoon

for my garnish.

If they're not here by four I'll be stressing a bit.

Colin's got a mountain of cones to make for his parsnip ice cream,

that will sit next to his chocolate Dickin Medal.

-Four done.

-Four done. HE CHUCKLES

It's taken me ten minutes.

Bit of a nightmare, but...

See what I mean?

James butchered his veal yesterday,

but today he must cook it along with all his veg and sweetbreads.

I've got a lot to do, still,

but I'm happy now that things have started to progress.

But the busiest chef in the kitchen is still Adam,

with his chicken many ways ration pack.

I've still got to dehydrate the celeriac, finish the consomme,

fry the chicken wings, obviously, closer to service,

and then I have the egg yolks to do.

Oh, yeah.

As the dining hall takes shape, each table is being laid

with photos of the guests taken around World War II.

With so much to do in the kitchen,

the chefs are forced to call on the judges and their expert hands

to help with the complex presentation of their dishes.

First to arrive this morning is Prue.

Colin, you don't seem to have got very far.

Well, I've been really busy yesterday, and also this morning.

I'm going to start running out of time

if I don't get somebody to delegate...

..to help me do my boards.

Colin needs Prue to make sure all the specially-made boxes

for his chocolate Dickin Medal dessert contain pieces of turf,

poppies, leaves and feathers.

And you want me to do that for the whole banquet?

For the whole banquet, if that's OK.

-I'll come back and help you!

-Go away, boy, and I'll get going.

Thank you very much!

Outside, more help is arriving.

Come on, Prue, chop chop.

Hurry up, hurry up. Come on, come on!

What can I do?

As I'm a little bit behind in there, I would absolutely love some help

setting up the boards so that they're all ready for this evening.

This is going to take all day!

Why am I doing this?

Presumably because you are behind schedule in the kitchen.

-Yeah, I'm way behind.

-Are you under pressure?

-Yeah, very.

Very much so.

Three hours in and Emily's chasing the 15kg of cockles

she's waiting on for her fish course garnish.

5kg, that's it?

Oh, God, Andre, that's not funny.

So, the cockles are actually in.

He's just winding me up by saying only 5kg arrived.

But luckily there is 15 there.

So, they're there.

Having finished the cones for his Dickin Medal dessert,

Colin's moved on to an even more delicate job -

tempering his chocolate.

-If anything was to go wrong, is this...?

-Yeah.

With the kitchen too hot, he's no choice but to set up shop elsewhere.

I never thought I would be tempering chocolate in St Paul's Cathedral

in one of the stairwells.

It'll be a special night.

That's, of course, if this tempering goes well, as well,

because if it doesn't, I'll be going home with my head in my hands.

With the banquet just hours away,

D-Day veterans Ken Sturdy and George Batts,

who helped select tonight's final menu,

arrive to boost morale with a reminder of Normandy.

Ah, here we go!

Hello again, it's nice to see you.

-I've got a nice souvenir for you.

-Oh, thank you.

Of when we were on the beach.

-Thank you very much.

-It was blowing a howling gale, do you remember?

Yeah, the weather was terrible.

And I would like to give you a bottle of Calvados

so that we can have a drink now.

To what you've done and what you're going to do.

-Is that what you drank in the war?

-Yes.

Oh, it's good enough for us, then to drink that, isn't it?!

Thank you very much, sir.

Well, here's to you guys.

This banquet's all for you, so I hope you have a fantastic evening,

and cheers.

ALL: Cheers.

Here's to us.

Augh!

Mm!

Prima!

Now you know why we won the war.

It's a welcome break in an otherwise hectic day.

With the veterans in mind, I can't serve anything that's not right.

-That's what's spurring me on.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

To push forward and to prove that I can do it,

-no matter what the circumstances are.

-Yeah.

-Cos you have to.

James has finished his veal cheeks.

But his veal loin must be cooked at the last minute.

Service is the big thing for me.

I think it's getting that veal cooked to perfection,

so it goes out lovely and pink.

I've got kind of 8-10 minutes, really,

it's going to take to cook, and beyond that,

there's not a lot of time it's going to sit and hold

without drying out - so, yeah, for me it's all about the service.

Emily's mum, who'll be a guest at the banquet,

arrives with the fresh cockles she's collected from her daughter's pub.

-Emily?

-Yeah?

-Your cockles are here.

Oh, Mum!

-How are you doing?

-Hello, darling.

-When did you get here?

-Well, I got here just now.

Will the cockles meet Emily's exacting standards?

Yeah, they're good. Thanks, Mum.

I don't know how you're going to get it all done.

-We will.

-You will, you will.

All right, Mum, thanks so much for bringing this out,

but I have to get on.

-OK. All right.

-See you later.

-OK, bye.

It's useful to have all the ingredients a few

hours off the banquet, so I can now start finishing it off.

With the banquet hall nearly set,

the chefs are building the pass from where they'll serve dinner.

While upstairs the judges are reflecting on tonight's event.

What an amazing place to be holding a banquet, no?

It is the most astonishing building.

There's a wonderful sense of tranquillity up here,

but downstairs in the kitchen I think it's not quite so tranquil.

An hour before service,

and Adam's moved on to today's biggest challenge.

No, that's too soft.

His first attempt at slow-cooked egg yolks has failed,

so he's having to increase the cooking time to 45 minutes -

lengthier than he originally planned.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, a bit longer will be better.

-I have confidence in this one.

-Yeah.

-Cos, you know...

-Well, I hope so, cos that'll take you to...

6:45.

-That's all right.

-When you'll to get them in, then...

ready for service, won't you?

Sh.

Upstairs, the guests start to arrive.

D-Day veterans Ken Sturdy and George Batts...

We're so grateful that on our 70th anniversary,

somebody's doing something for us.

And, you know, we're proud.

..along with Jim Radford, who'll be performing a song

when Emily's Normandy-inspired fish course is served...

When I left school, like all my family, went to sea.

15 years old and it just

so happened my first trip was the Normandy landings.

And I became the youngest D-Day veteran.

..Cabinet War Room secretary Joy Hunter,

and Chelsea Pensioner Fred Walker, who risked his life on D-Day...

We're the lucky ones, but the real soldiers are all over in Normandy,

in the cemeteries, unfortunately.

..granddaughter of Winston Churchill, Celia Sands...

When I walked in here this evening, of course,

so many memories flooded back of my grandfather's funeral,

which was extraordinary and unforgettable.

A drinks reception has been set up for the guests,

including those from the Commonwealth

who helped in the war effort,

like Neil Flanagan, who was part of the RAF ground crew.

England was in dire straits, they were short of manpower

and they went overseas to the empire to ask people to come to Britain.

Baroness Trumpington worked as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park,

and helped select the main course in the finals.

What am I looking forward to tonight?

To stuff myself full of food.

The enormity of the task ahead

has dawned on former banquet champion Colin.

When that bell goes and you've got to start serving,

and your heartbeat's going,

then yeah, that's when the pressure's really going to be on.

Each plate has to be consistent and as good as the next,

because it could be in front of the Prime Minister,

it could be in front of my wife or veterans,

so every one has to be exactly the same.

It was really seen as a miracle, wasn't it, that St Paul's

throughout the bombs, the fires, everything, stood there?

That's what makes it so appropriate

that the meal is taking place here this evening.

With time running out before service,

Adam puts dozens of eggs into a water bath to slow cook.

It's going to be touch and go with these eggs.

-It's a lot of eggs. How many have you got extra? I

-don't know,

I lost count. I've only got ten fingers. And two thumbs -

five fingers and two thumbs.

-Five fingers and two what? Thumbs?

-Cos someone chopped his hand off.

-Where were you, most of all?

-I went from Normandy to Berlin.

Right, all the way.

You actually typed out the battle orders for D-Day?

Which battery were you on?

-469 battery.

-Right. Is that you?

-That's me when I was a sergeant.

You haven't changed a bit.

I've been a bit of an interloper. Our generation hasn't had to do anything

like what your generation did.

-Are you doing it for a certain time?

-Yeah, 40 minutes.

Do you want to just start the time when the temperature gets to it,

-cos it's all set to 65, but...

-Enough, enough.

-Sorry.

I'm a bit deaf, you'll have to shout at me.

Which is the best one, this one or that one?

-It's great to have you here.

-Neither.

-Neither? We're very grateful.

That's what tonight's really about, a chance for my generation,

who haven't to do any of these things,

-to say thank you to your generation for what you did.

-Oh.

-Hi, James, how are you doing?

-Hello. Very well, yourself?

-Yeah, not bad. Hi, nice to see you.

-Hello, Prime Minister.

You were a bit worried about the kitchen facilities,

-how's it all worked out for you?

-It's OK now.

-They said they had to

import a bit of extra staff.

We had a little bit of building work around yesterday.

-Nervous?

-I think if you weren't nervous, then there'd be a problem.

-It helps you create.

-It helps you get through, you know, so...

-Hi, how are you? Nice to see you.

-Very well, thank you.

-It's a long way from the plough.

-It is.

-Slightly different cooking conditions.

-Very different.

-But it's going all right?

-It's going all right.

-Have you cooked

in some strange places before?

Yeah, well, nothing like this. 24 hours ago this was a cafe.

The main thing is to honour all of them. It's amazing to have

a collection of people, some of whom fired AKAK guns,

some of whom stormed the beaches in Normandy.

Some who worked decrypting the Nazi signals.

We've been so humbled by the people we've met doing the competition.

I don't have to say good luck any more cos you're all winners

-but thank you and thanks for what you're doing.

-Thank you very much.

As the guests take their seats, someone who knows exactly

what the chefs are going through is twice-banquet champion Tom Kerridge.

What a stellar crowd of people to be impressing,

so, yeah, they're going to be very nervous in there

but fingers crossed they're all under control.

Oh, they've sat down. Nobody's told me they've sat.

-You need to communicate with me.

-Yes.

-So I know what's going on.

Otherwise it's going to get messy to begin with and I don't want that.

Absolutely.

I saw these frames on the table. They were all turned away from me.

I said, "What's on those frames?" to somebody. They turned one round...

fell through the floor - it was me!

Expectations are high, particularly from Joy Hunter,

who judged Adam's starter in the regional heats.

I can't wait to see it, really. It's bringing all the judging back,

the day when I had to taste it, and that was very exciting.

And now to have it as a meal,

in these surroundings...super!

The pressure's on Adam to deliver his modern interpretation

of the dehydrated food soldiers ate on D-Day.

And then the chicken wings as well, James.

They've got to have three minutes...

I've got four people talking at me and I can't...

-Do you want eight eggs a time?

-Yeah, yeah.

As the Prime Minister takes to the stage,

it's time for Adam to start plating up.

Whoo!

Right, let's go.

The chefs get cracking with his delicate eggs.

-Perfect.

-The eggs...

If I could punch the air right now, I would do.

It's a huge pleasure to be here tonight in this astounding venue.

Now, we're here, of course, to commemorate D-Day.

I simply cannot imagine what it must have been like

to land on those beaches.

To uncertainty, to terrifying danger.

To possible death.

But that is exactly what thousands of young men did.

One of them was my grandfather.

And he landed on the Normandy beaches

and was wounded just a few days later.

And I'm so proud of what he did and let me tell you,

I'm so proud to be in the presence of so many D-Day veterans today.

Of course, the heroes weren't just on the beaches.

They were on the Home Front, too.

We also have with us tonight people who worked at Bletchley Park.

Who beavered away in the Cabinet War Rooms.

Who transported aircraft around the country.

And so many more who made a vital contribution to the war effort.

My generation, this country, we enjoy freedom.

We enjoy democracy because of the sacrifices your generation made,

and we must never, ever forget that.

Everyone, raise your glasses to the men and women of D-Day.

Thank you very much indeed.

Keep going on the dressing.

In the kitchen, the production line is in full swing...

More powder. More powder.

..while Adam checks everthing's in order at the pass.

OK, go. OK.

Timed to perfection, the first of Adam's freeze-dried chicken

and dehydrated celeriac ration boxes are served.

D-Day ration pack, here we are.

Thank you.

Oh, la-la.

Oh, look at that.

I need three flasks, please.

Hello?

This is a novel idea, I must say.

Then you put some of this stuff on, which is soup.

Running behind.

What did you say? Faster?

Mm. That's delicious.

Where's the crates?

At the pass, Adam's up to speed, but the waiters haven't returned

from the banquet hall with the crates in which the ration boxes

are delivered to the tables.

I need the crates back.

But you asked me to go faster, and there's no crates.

Right, so you take them.

I can't wait. You take them.

And then you, go and put them on the table. Yes?

-Full of flavour, isn't it?

-Very good.

Can somebody tell me, is there just one table left?

-Yes, one last table.

-This is the last table.

Pulled it off, kid.

You're done.

But unknown to Adam, one table hasn't been accounted for.

That nearly broke me, I tell you.

As they are left waiting,

the chefs are gearing up for Emily's fish course.

Right, Colin, you're on veg, and you're just going to pass down

one table of each. There should be some trays...

-I'm going to blanch it, put it back in there?

-Yeah, perfect.

One of each, for each table.

Though soon a change of plan as news reaches the chefs

about the missing table of starters.

Eggs, six eggs, please, for Adam!

-Chicken wings?

-Here.

I've got it. That's it.

With everyone helping...

Have we got consomme, Colin?

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, consomme there.

..it only takes a couple of minutes to get six more ration packs out.

Look at that, thanks very much.

Clearly something's gone wrong and I don't know what it is.

But obviously I'm not happy about it.

Luckily, none of the guests seem to mind.

Really is fantastic. And huge fun working out how to eat it

with the wonderful way it's been presented.

We were given 24-hour packs, but nothing like this.

This is marvellous compared to what we used to get.

Adam's dish was as good as it was in the finals.

With all his ration boxes finally served,

there's one special guest Adam wants to see - veteran Ken Sturdy.

-Ken.

-Oh, that was a real winner.

-Did you enjoy that?

I sat next to the Prime Minister. He was absolutely fascinating.

Did you enjoy it?

-Perfect starter.

-Thank you very much.

It's a real pleasure. Thank you very much.

I think it was absolutely delicious.

Absolutely super.

If the rest of the food is like that, we're in for a phenomenal evening.

And we'll stay for breakfast tomorrow.

Now Emily can continue plating up her Fight Them On The Beaches

fish course - a fried scallop, cockles, and sea veg.

This is the crucial point, this is what we've been working for.

Slightly anxious about it coming together

but I'm quite excited as well.

They all need to be smoked, please.

On the side she's serving flasks with cockle broth and smoke.

Ow!

It's crucial the flasks are sealed to keep the smoke in.

Yeah, they're holding.

That's obviously a very key part of the dish.

I really want the kind of drama and, more importantly,

the aroma of the smoke.

Ow! Don't touch that, it's really hot.

Her smoked broth will reach the tables first as D-Day veteran

and folk singer Jim Radford performs a song he wrote

about his Normandy experiences. When Emily first heard it,

she knew it would be the perfect accompaniment to her dish.

It was so beautiful

and sung in such an incredible way, with the most wonderful story.

Gave me shivers up my spine, gave me goose bumps.

About 30 years after D-Day,

I went back for the first time and I stood on the beach at Arromanches

and it moved me to tears.

And I wrote this song, which you're going to hear now.

How you feeling about going up next?

I'm concentrating, Adam, no comment.

# In the cold, grey light

# Of the sixth of June

# In the year of '44

# The empire lot sailed out from Poole

# To join with thousands more

# The largest fleet

# The world had seen

# We sailed in close array

# And we set our course

# For Normandy

# At the dawning of the day

# As the years passed by

# I can still recall

# The men I saw that day

# Who died upon that blood-soaked sand

# Where now sweet children play

# And those of you who were unborn

# Who've lived in liberty

# Remember those who made it so

# On the shores of Normandy. #

Can you start going with the first batch of scallops, please?

Lucas, can you run the veg, please, for Colin, please?

It's now all hands on deck to serve the main elements of Emily's dish.

We're going to start off with a sea veg, the Sea Aster, to be precise.

Then we're going to sit the scallop in the centre.

Morels and cockles over the shells.

And then caramelised sea lettuce as well.

Oh, the old mess tins. Hey-hey!

-Food's back.

-Thank you.

It's all looking good, Emily, are you happy?

Until I hear that the flasks are smoked properly at the tables,

I will be semi-happy.

Mm. Smell that, smells good, right?

I'm sitting with two legends. And they're just loving it.

They're embracing it. This smells amazing.

I'm really excited about getting tucked in here.

Can you get the cockles in the shells, please?

"Put the cockles in the shells, yes?"

Honestly, it's like talking to children, isn't it?

Beautiful. Yes. And not too much of it.

Just enough to really enjoy and not feel overdone, you know?

-Sea vegetables, please.

-Quick, quick, quick, let's go, go, go.

Hurry up.

Ooh...

-Are you all right?

-It was going to happen to somebody.

This is really good. The cockles are amazing.

Right, have we got sea lettuce on all of them?

-Do you want to check them before they go, Emily? Last table.

-Go.

-Well done.

-I'm not sure.

-Why?

-Do you think it's all right?

-They looked brilliant.

I thought it was really, really amazing, but I would, wouldn't I?

Cos she's my wife.

Halfway there. Let's go and get the main course.

Catch up a bit of time.

-Let's go.

-Well done.

The food is very good here.

Bears absolutely no resemblance to the food we ate during the war,

which was all quantity and carbohydrates and not quality.

This is quality, this is good.

I'm very thankful that you're not asking us to judge one course

against the other because that would be impossible.

Absolutely brilliant. You are such a clever girl!

-Did you enjoy it?

-Oh, I loved it. I thought it was absolutely delicious.

It all smoked up beautifully.

Veteran chef Daniel Clifford, who judged James in the regional heats,

was keen to catch up with him in the kitchen.

-Hello, Chef, how are you?

-How're you, Chef, all right?

Yeah, I'm great. Great to see you. I'm so proud that you're here.

I think main course is the hardest one cos it's the one that everyone

looks forward to, but when I tasted it, it just brought tears to my eyes.

I knew that was going to be the dish to go all the way.

It's an 11 out of ten. Tonight it's going to blow everyone away.

-I'm so looking forward to eating it again.

-Fantastic.

-All right. Well good luck, yeah?

-Thank you.

-What do you need?

-I need to get veal in the oven, please.

Now James must deliver his Blitz Spirit veal main course -

a sharing dish evoking memories of communities pulling together

during the war.

-Five minutes for the main course, what's the chance of that?

-Erm...

-Not a

-BLEEP

-chance in hell, really. The veal's just gone in.

James has been calm all day.

Now it's his baby going out, he's got to take care of it,

make sure he delivers.

He's responsible for it at the end of the day.

And he's a bit more anxious, is the word, probably.

-Emily, can you toast off the breadcrumbs?

-Yeah.

It's all last-minute so I'm just getting everything finished off now.

Hopefully I've delegated out enough jobs

and I can just stand on the pass and, you know, watch it go out.

OK, guys, do me a favour. I need all the ladles on the pass

and the serving spoons, can you bring them over?

To keep with the Blitz spirit,

the dish will be shared between two people.

There should be more of these, no?

D-Day veteran Fred Walker will share his main course

with James' son Charlie.

I'm really proud cos he's worked hard to get this far in the competition.

I think he deserves to have this honour of cooking for the veterans.

I think that's right now. Yeah, OK, let's go.

With all chefs delegated duties, the veal stew and beans

with mushrooms and sauteed veal sweetbreads are plated up,

while James takes charge of the dish's centrepiece, his veal loin.

Right, two more. Let's go, thank you.

It's sometimes said the British people coming together

in the dark days of the Blitz helped win the war,

leading to the famous speech by Winston Churchill,

celebrating Victory in Europe.

WINSTON CHURCHILL: 'This is your victory.

'Victory

'of the cause of freedom

'in every land.

'In all our long history

'we have never seen a greater day than this.'

Let's go, please, yeah? Go, go, go, guys, yeah?

"Roasted veal loin, braised veal cheeks.

"Sauteed sweetbreads, beans, mushrooms and toast."

That should sort you out. We'll sort you out.

Two more, please, guys.

Very nice.

Every element of the dish is cooked absolutely perfect.

Everything he promised, from the first time I saw this dish,

he delivered it 110%. You know, that guy's a star.

Happy with the plates, James? Happy with the food?

I'm really happy, yeah.

It's unique, it's marvellous.

How can you fault it? You can't fault it. Lovely!

The gravy was the best thing I've eaten for a long time.

Just a little.

There you go. Thank you.

-Feeling good?

-Yeah, over the moon.

It looked beautiful. It really did look amazing.

It's not easy to cook sweetbreads and veal for this many people.

But it was perfect. Absolutely wonderful.

I am extremely proud of James. I absolutely love this main course.

I haven't tasted it before.

And this is absolutely delicious.

I'm eating.

-You all right?

-That was fantastic, I loved it.

-Enjoy it, mate?

-Yeah. Delicious.

-Yeah, did you enjoy it?

-Really proud of you.

-Delicious, yeah.

Definitely done Nanny proud and grandad.

I could just imagine him sat enjoying that.

He would have loved it. He'd be very proud.

The finale to the D-Day banquet is Colin's tribute

to the forgotten heroes of the war -

the animals who played a vital role in World War II.

And also in memory of his grandfather,

who took part in the Normandy landings.

OK, guys, last dish going up. So far so good. Last push.

Colin's four layered medals are glazed with chocolate...

OK.

..before being topped with his tempered white chocolate

Dickin Medal.

Three waiters, two plates each.

One person's going to be carrying the sauce. In the centre of these

you can see the hollow, so we're going to pour just a little bit

of the hot chocolate and then it's going to cave in.

It's a bit of theatre, OK?

Guys ready?

Last on the plate is Colin's parsnip ice cream,

inspired by the use of vegetables as sweeteners during the war

when sugar was in short supply.

OK, there we go. Hot chocolate!

-Two jugs.

-Two jugs.

OK, start picking up the rest of these. Let's go, let's go.

The chocolate sauce must reach the tables hot

for it to melt through the Dickin Medal.

Oh, lovely, lovely, lovely.

Two chocolate sauces, please.

It's looking fantastic, isn't it, Colin? I love the boxes.

-Yeah.

-Happy with it?

-Yeah, I am, yeah.

The poppy struck me rather emotionally.

Because we left a lot of blokes behind.

They didn't all come back.

Swap. OK, I need to change this ice cream, ASAP.

Give me a bag.

Parsnip ice cream's amazing, isn't it? I have to say,

it sounds absolutely horrible but it tastes really lovely.

-Very nice, thank you very much.

-Straight down the middle.

Thank you. Well done!

Gorgeous, isn't it?

That's a nice course.

Very nice course.

Very nice indeed. Lovely.

Apart from looking lovely, it tastes nice as well.

Well done.

I think Colin's done his grandad very proud. His grandad would have loved

to have been here. It was really good, I think it was well received

by everybody, so I think it was a good finale.

Everybody on my table was extremely happy.

Everyone thought it was amazing, I thought it was amazing.

We all just had a beautiful, convivial evening.

No-one wants to leave.

I've enjoyed it enormously. It's been great.

The food has been mind-blowingly good.

And for me it's been an absolute honour

to be sat amongst these people, listening to the stories.

To meet the people here tonight and hear the things that they did,

and the stories they tell,

you couldn't be more proud of your country.

Ladies and gentlemen,

it's been a most phenomenal affair tonight.

And I know everybody's enjoyed it.

I'm sorry, I feel so emotional.

Um...

The chefs have done phenomenal work.

And I'm going to get Ken to start to introduce them.

When we went ashore on D-Day, the last thing we thought of was food.

But tonight everything's been reversed.

Let's hear it for Adam. Adam, step forward.

'It's been a tough two days but you have to dig deep

'and you have to say who you're doing this for.'

Bravo for Adam.

'And the veterans, they dug deep for us to be where we are today,'

so you have to make it work.

Emily, come forward. Let's hear the lady who produced the fish course.

'I think Grandpa would have been so proud of me being here tonight.'

Give us a hug.

'My grandfather not only did his part in World War II'

but he was also really quite into his food as well,

so I think it would have meant a lot to him.

James did the main course.

It was fantastic.

Massive sense of relief now it's over, it's done. The most important

thing is that we pulled it off for the veterans. They're the big stars

of the show, really, and it's a big thank you from us

for what they've done for this nation.

-Did you enjoy that chocolate pudding?

-ALL: Yes!

Colin did that.

'I'm feeling a little bit sombre cos now it's all over

'and I've walked in the room, and I've seen the veterans,'

it kind of hits you like a big wall about what this is all about.

It's quite emotional, really.

It really means, you know, a lot and it makes everything worthwhile,

more than what it originally did.

At the end of these things,

it always gets me.

Cos we remember our friends we left behind.

And there are about 18 or 19,000 of them in Normandy alone.

Please raise your glasses.

Absent friends.

Absent friends.

And we've many of them.