Northern Ireland Judging Great British Menu

It's been a tough week for three

of Northern Ireland's best chefs.

Where's all my pickled gear?

Eager young newcomer, Will Brown...

Don't like them stuck in the skin, do you?

..and Richard Corrigan's head chef, Chris McGowan...

Catch me if you can.

..went head-to-head with returning finalist, Raymond McArdle.

Every element has to be really, really right.

Their prize - to cook at a banquet,

commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day at one of the bastions

of British wartime resilience,

St Paul's Cathedral.

Yesterday's dessert course was a fight for survival for Will...

There's no room for error here.

But in the end, veteran Tom Kerridge sent him packing.

For a professional chef to send that out to anybody is unforgivable.

Today, Raymond and Chris will battle it out...

You've got to get this spot on.

I tell you what they will get it, they'll get a great plate of food, Ray.

..to win over the judges...

I think it's the most important competition we've ever done.

I am really excited.

..who want perfection for our war heroes.

I do think this is absolutely delicious.

There's nothing original about it.

It's a meat and two veg and a bit of gravy.

To make sure the dishes evoke the spirit of wartime Britain,

there is a fourth judge, Celia Sandys.

Granddaughter of Winston Churchill.

Oh, wow.

What did he like to eat?

His favourite things were Irish stew and ice cream.

Today, only one chef will make it to the finals.

Winner is...

Having reached the finals last year,

Raymond knows what's needed to impress in the competition.

I've been here before, I know how hard it is.

I'm here to win.

Well, Ray, you didn't cook against me last year.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, there's nothing in it, man.

Richard Corrigan's head chef, Chris, started the week badly

but fought back

and held on to second place.

This is a competition - I'm here to win.

It's not about friendships.

I just want to get past the judges' chamber and get to that banquet.

Returning finalist, Raymond, has had an up and down week

ending on a high yesterday with his dessert.

Coming in here today as the leader, erm, definitely gave me

the kick to finish the job.

I just want to really impress the judges with the brief

and nail it.

Judges Prue Leith, Matthew Fort

and Oliver Peyton are scrutinising the chefs' menus.

I hope we do not have a whole lot of rationing based food.

It's got to be great gastronomy for that final dinner.

I think it's the most important competition we've done.

I'm really excited.

Well, celebrating D-Day, the heroes of D-Day, without them

we would not be here today.

Absolutely.

Listen, good luck, Ray. I wish you all the luck.

-I hope everything goes well for you, mate.

-I don't think you do.

Well, no, I don't. But anyway.

Today, the judges will each mark all four dishes individually.

Starter with Chris - five.

I mean how...what could he have done?

The top scoring chef will go through to the finals.

Hello, chefs.

-Morning.

-Good morning.

-How are you?

-Very good, very good.

-Good to see you again, Ray.

-Great to be here on a Friday, you know?

Chris, what went wrong with your first course?

I think it was digging for mackerel.

I think that was the problem.

But I've looked at it and I've adapted it and changed

so hopefully we're flying for victory now.

The only advice that I can give you is you have to evoke the spirit

of D-Day, how important it is to this country,

how important those people are to this country.

If you can achieve that, you're a winner.

Both chefs must focus on a strong start to their menu.

First time I've met the judges,

makes you feel you need to step up a level, you know?

I'd really love to get a dish on this banquet.

I'd love to get there and represent

and say that Northern Ireland was part of that.

I'd be proud for the whole country.

Yes. No, I agree, I agree.

Raymond's up first with his starter of pigeon post

of roast and confit pigeon with fig flapjack

and creamed barley served up with

a message in a pigeon's claw.

Tom scored it an eight in the week.

All right, Ray. Feeling the pressure now, mate. First up.

I want to get this spot on.

The chefs' dishes will also be judged by a banquet guest of honour.

Today, it's the granddaughter of Winston Churchill, Celia Sandys.

Celia, welcome.

Hello, lovely to be here.

-Hello.

-Please.

What have you got there?

Well, I thought you might like to see the first photograph I have

of me with my grandfather which was very much around this period.

It was a year before D-Day and it's my christening.

You know, quite nice that he came

cos he must've had quite a lot of things to do.

Goodness, in '43 and it's a wonderful picture of him.

I was going to ask was he keen on his food?

Oh, very keen on his food. Absolutely, yes.

Before I came, I rang up my aunt

and said, "What was Grandpapa's favourite dish?"

And she said, "Well, if he could have done,

"he'd have had Irish stew at every meal."

Oh, wonderful.

So, I don't know. I'm hoping one of

these two chefs will cook us an Irish stew.

Raymond kicks off his Normandy-inspired starter with

fig flapjack and beetroot jelly,

followed by clotted cream pearl barley risotto

and his roast pigeon breast.

What will they think about your pigeon post, Ray?

When they open that message out of the pigeon, they'll see,

-"Guys, you know my food is the best. Put me through."

-Yeah.

That's what it's going to say really.

The plate is finished off with blackberry sauce

and confit pigeon leg with a message

carried in its claw.

OK, ladies.

Away you go.

That's good pigeon.

Ah, he's got this little message there, how sweet.

I've always thought one of the great advantages of pigeon post

is that you can eat the messenger,

and that's just what I'm going to do.

When they open the message and then they start eating

-and they eat the pigeon that carried the post, you know.

-Yeah, yeah.

-I've got a real chance with this dish.

-Yes.

So, the message is, "Sea landings a success,

"supported by ship to shore heavy battery fire of HMS Belfast."

-What is the sauce?

-It's blackberry.

It's sweet, isn't it?

That pigeon's delicious.

-I do think this is absolutely delicious.

-Hmm.

Every ingredient bursts in your mouth.

-Looks as though every item has been thought out, doesn't it?

-Hmm.

Do you think the judges will like the balance of your dish?

You know, I mean the flapjack - the stickiness of that?

Well, I think the pigeon is... you know, strong enough

to stand up to that.

Yeah.

What's the fig flapjack doing?

Can someone explain to me?

Do you know, I love that contrast of that, though.

It's so completely unexpected.

I think it's a lovely little surprise and I think it goes

extremely well with the pigeon.

I don't like that bit of it.

It's the only bit I don't like.

Do you think it would have met with your grandfather's approval?

I think it would probably in most senses.

I don't think that he would have liked this cos he was a

great animal lover and I think that might have put him off on his plate.

Ha-ha-ha.

-I think he needs a medal for bravery, if nothing else.

-Ha-ha.

Up next is Chris and his renamed starter, Fly For Victory,

marked down in the week by Tom for not living up to its original title

of, "Dig For Victory", as its

main ingredient was fish - not vegetables.

Replacing mackerel for duck,

Chris is hoping for higher than the five it scored on Monday.

Are you a wee bit concerned about the

judges being able to pick up on your story?

Beetroot mate, digging for victory, Ray.

You know, I mean, it's not my title anymore but people know that it

was a vegetable at that time, they know it's a sustainable veg.

If they don't get it, they don't get it.

But they will get a great plate of food, Ray.

Chris starts his plate with smoked red, golden and baby beetroots.

Next, his sour dough bread slices filled with duck liver.

How do you feel about sending your food into the judges' chamber

-for the first time?

-Nervous, Ray.

Finally, his breast and leg of wild duck,

topped off with a beetroot sauce.

So, these are ration books.

They are to be given to the judges with their starter.

OK. Off you go. Thank you very much.

Brilliant.

Really good'un.

I've always wanted to eat out of a bird bath.

Chris, you changed the mackerel to duck?

On judges' day?

Yes.

Good gamble?

Oh,

with the score that I got at the start of the week,

I had to do something really.

The sandwich is rather good.

I think it's absolutely delicious.

I really like the beetroot.

Beetroot - I absolutely agree.

And that yellow beetroot is particularly good, I think.

I just don't like the taste of the duck.

I think the duck is not very well cooked,

it's over-seasoned.

I just don't like the balance of flavours.

I think he's just...

cobbled this together to try and change something.

It wasn't just thrown together, it was a good thought process

that went into the fact that it was going to be wild duck.

And beetroot, you know.

The taste of the beetroot is so assertive that the duck doesn't

really stand up to it at all, it doesn't stand a chance.

No, it's a very unbalanced dish.

I don't think he's thought about the brief properly at all.

Because this is just tacked on.

It's an interesting little ration book but I have to say there wasn't

much evidence of rationing in my grandparents house.

I think he was sent so many presents of food.

Come on.

Your fish course - you've changed that, so what is it then?

It's now John Dory.

Raymond's memories of Normandy fish course was

inspired by his trip to the D-Day beaches.

It features a strong French

cheese sauce which raised eyebrows

earlier this week,

but it was the overpowering flavour

of the braised ham which saw him

marked down, scoring just a six.

It's tough on service.

You know, I've got to get this spot on.

His John Dory is served on ham braised in Normandy cider,

topped with an apple and celery tapioca dressing and French caviar.

It's finished with a Camembert and Reblochon cheese sauce.

OK. Thank you, ladies.

Serve it, ladies first, yeah.

It's very pretty and it certainly has memories of Normandy, I mean,

all those ingredients, you think - Normandy.

But I also spot a big dollop of caviar on top which I wasn't actually

aware was produced in Normandy in any large quantities.

-No, but we'll forgive them.

-Ha-ha.

So, Ray, obviously this dish was inspired by your trip to

Normandy, you know?

-Yeah.

-Do you think you'll get that through that dish?

Maybe...

You know, you don't see it but all the flavours of Normandy are there.

Yeah.

Delicious fish. I love John Dory.

It's a sort of...

This is really good, delicious.

It's wonderfully forgiving.

-So, you got cheese sauce on there, Ray.

-Yeah.

Do you think the judges will get that, mate? That's a risky one.

I think these judges have been round the block a bit,

they'll understand it.

I think the dish was absolutely delicious

up until the point that I tasted the Camembert.

I think the Camembert has completely ruined it.

I absolutely agree with you.

I think the problem is that the other memories of Normandy

have gone just a step too far.

Did we really need this sauce at all?

-No.

-No.

They may say, "Oh, God, don't like cheese sauce with fish."

And that's me gone.

Do you have any childhood memories of fish?

Yes, my grandfather just love fried fish with tartar sauce.

I mean, he wasn't... He didn't need to have everything dolled up.

I think this would have been very nice with a dollop of tartar sauce

-on the side.

-Ha-ha.

It would have been an improvement over the Camembert sauce.

You have got a cracking dish coming up.

If I don't do these ingredients justice,

then it's all for nothing, isn't it?

Chris's Winston Churchill quote-inspired,

We Are Captains Of Our Soles fish course,

of Dover soles served with

unusual long neck clams and horseradish

scored a winning eight earlier this week.

Have you changed it up? No?

No, I'm just butter poaching it, like I did.

He plates up spinach and sea vegetable puree,

then adds his butter poached Dover sole and long neck clams.

Next, a croquette made from a bechamel source and clam meat.

Finally, he garnishes the plate with more sea vegetables.

Slightly bit big, like.

Yeah, but this is a fish course so it's meant to be

maybe a little bit more

generous, you know?

Thank you very much.

Well, that's your strongest dish.

Listen, it's the final day, it all comes out today, mate.

Ah, that's beautiful.

I think that's so pretty and so fresh and so clean.

It's just the sort of food I like to have.

Wonderful briny smells coming off that, I mean, it actually

feels like the sea.

It does, it smells exactly like the sea - wonderful.

-No rations there, chef.

-There was no rations there, yeah, that was...

-That was Mayfair lux...

-Ration books.

-That was Mayfair lux, Chef.

-Yeah.

That sauce is so fresh and perfect and not too creamy.

The long neck clam is delicious with the horseradish underneath.

-Hmm.

-Just a little bit of vinegar in the horseradish as well,

to sharpen it up.

The thing I like about this dish is just the quality of the cooking

is absolutely outstanding.

You know, it works so beautifully through the experience of each

different flavour.

I mean, it's actually quite a substantial dish and I like that.

Yeah, so I feel that Chris has come storming back.

The caption is Captain's Of Our Soles, you know,

an old Winston Churchill caption so...

-Well...

-I'm hoping they get that.

I don't know whether any of you realise, but in 1941 my grandfather

made a speech where he said,

"We are the masters of our fate.

"We are the captains of our souls."

-Ha-ha.

-So, he's got a sense of history here too which I think

is very nice indeed. I can see him eating this.

At the halfway point, while the chefs get on with preparing their

main courses, the judges are discussing their scores.

I've see nothing up beyond an eight, myself.

A nine - I have a nine.

I have absolutely neck-and-neck.

I'm looking forward to the second half.

Raymond's had a disaster with his oxtail hash.

-BLEEP!

-Burned.

It's like totally torched to the pot.

It's not what you need on finals day, Ray, is it, mate?

But it's Chris who's up first with his main - The Pig Club.

Cooking suckling pig nose-to-tail using the shoulder, legs and loin,

along with black pudding.

It scored a seven earlier this week.

It's tough when you're first up to the pass, isn't it? First up.

If you're ready, you're ready, Ray.

You've done your mise en place, mate, you've done your prep...

You're organised, do you know what I mean?

Tom thought both chefs' main courses hit the wartime brief, something

which fourth judge Celia will be looking for in all their dishes.

Hi, how are you?

Well, much enjoying your food from both of you.

It's really delicious.

I'm feeling very full.

Oh, wow. So, how do you know Sir Winston Churchill?

-Well, she was my grandfather.

-No!

Where was that taken?

That was taken in the South of France.

In 1962.

-On holiday?

-On holiday, yes.

And what did he like to eat?

Well, his favourite things were Irish stew and ice cream.

Well, hopefully we'll do him proud.

Good, you're doing what my grandfather would have said -

"Never, never give in," And you're carrying on in that spirit.

-Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your meal.

-Bye.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

That was pretty special.

Outside of having the man here himself...

to have his granddaughter here.

Granddaughter?

Yep, amazing.

Wow.

Chris starts his plate with onion puree and roasted carrots.

Next on, it's black pudding and pork shoulder.

And his onion ash, which Tom thought was too bitter.

Just a wee sprinkle.

I'm not going to change that aspect.

I like it like that, Ray.

I'd put it somewhere different.

That's you, Ray. This is me, mate. You know what I mean?

Next, his bone marrow and pork loin

served with his sauce in mini saucepans.

That's brilliant.

OK. The Pig Club.

That looks fantastic.

Wow.

Well, that looks good, doesn't it?

We're not going to go hungry either. Smells good too.

It is a real looker.

It's a beautifully presented dish.

That is as good as you're going to get. That's the pork.

You should be well proud of that.

I mean, this is a festival of meat though.

I mean, that's my concern here.

It is a mass, it is a big dish,

there's a lot of meat in there.

I have never eaten black pudding.

I'm a bit nervous about that.

Oh, my goodness!

You have a treat in store.

I do, do I?

I think the black pudding is absolutely outstanding.

You know, I don't like the gravy, I don't like the carrots.

Do you like the carrots?

I do like the carrots.

I mean, I like vegetables more than meat, personally.

You know, I hope they get it.

The brief - the kind of no wastage, kind of using everything up.

I'm really not too sure about the mousse.

I think it's just an idea that's been plopped in there,

if you know what I mean.

Well, I think it's a case of the pig, the whole pig,

and nothing but the pig.

And I think certainly after the war, you would not have

thrown away any waste, any part of it.

Given the brief, do you think this is an appropriate dish

for this important occasion?

No, you'd want something a little more...

That you can get your teeth into, I think.

You don't want all the trouble thinking what you're going to have.

I think...for me, it's too much picking at.

Raymond's next with his two-part main - Officers' Mess -

of beef sirloin for the officers and brisket for the soldiers.

Like Chris, he scored a seven, but he's come up with an idea

to try to win over the judges.

I've got a wee surprise for you.

-So, I'm going to make this plate wear the officer's hat...

-Ah!

..and the other plate wear the soldier's hat.

-Boom.

-Boom!

Loving it.

Tom marked it down in the week for the portion size being too large,

so Raymond is serving his dishes alternately and thinks cooking

one of Winston Churchill's favourite meals could see him do well.

He loved Irish stew, well, I'm on a winner.

His Officers' Plate starts with the rescued oxtail hash, peas

and ale cooked onions.

Then slices of beef sirloin.

Next, it's the beef brisket for the soldiers' element,

along with vegetable stew.

Finally, a mushroom sauce is drizzled over the officer's plate

and his two-part main is ready.

OK.

Away you go, ladies.

Thank you.

I think one's for the officer and one's for the other ranks.

Perhaps I'll give that one a try if you don't mind.

But do you like that hat?

-I do like that hat.

-Well, you have that hat, let's go crazy.

You really are an officer and a gentleman.

-ALL:

-Ha-ha-ha.

-I can't do any more.

-No.

You put it all in there, kid.

I can't do any more.

This is a delicious piece of meat, I think.

Can you imagine at the final dinner,

this going down in front of everybody,

mess tins in front of the entire...

-I think it's a mouthful everybody would enjoy.

-Mmm.

I think this is... This dish is lovely.

-I just want to make sure everything was right.

-Yeah.

If you're going to serve something in a can or a mess can...

-Yeah.

-..it's got to be spot-on, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

Mmm. I really wouldn't like to see the officers version going down

at all at a banquet because I think it's just a very average dish.

There's nothing original about it.

It's a meat, two veg and a bit of gravy.

The stew, on the other hand, is absolutely outstanding.

I think it'd be perfect at the banquet.

Celia, your grandfather liked a stew.

Would he have approved of this stew?

I rather think he would have done

and I think that it's very

appropriate for the occasion.

I mean, the soldiers arriving on the beaches - if they could have

got their hands on this, they would have been thrilled to bits.

It's exactly what they should have been served.

With just one course to go, it's Chris who's plating up first.

How you feeling about your dessert?

I haven't changed anything.

I'm not going to change anything.

I believe in it.

He's serving coconut sponge with

rice pudding ice cream

and cans of lemon grass and chilli marinated pineapple on the side.

He struggled yesterday to get the ice cream right,

with Tom scoring the dish a not-so-magnificent seven.

Have you got your cans ready?

They're done, mate.

He starts his plate with the coconut sponge and lime curd,

then adds a passion fruit citrus cream.

Next on, Thai baby basil, pineapple jelly

and rice pudding ice cream wrapped in a pineapple tuile.

Take it with you, ladies.

-Thanks, ladies.

-Thank you very much.

Pretty.

This looks good enough to eat.

-And coconut ice is my favourite thing.

-Happy days.

No, it's 'happy isles'.

It says, "Happy Isles Broken Slices "Pineapple".

I do think that this shows the degree to which the chef himself

has gone into the detail and thinking about this.

I'm giving him credit for that.

Oh, look at that, it's so sweet.

And it's got chilli on it.

Oh, I do like pineapple with chilli.

I think this rice pudding ice cream is a triumph.

It's absolutely delicious and so unusual.

Were you happy with the pineapple tuile - that it'll stay crunchy?

Yes, definitely.

Oh, that will be proper crunchy, yeah.

That lovely crunchy bit of pineapple caramel too, isn't it?

I put fresh... I grated fresh coconut at the end.

I'm kind of hoping that those little tweaks will maybe elevate

that dish as well a little bit, you know.

The coconut thing is just OK.

I don't think it's necessary. I think the rest of the stuff

works brilliantly.

Would your grandfather have liked ice cream,

and would he have liked rice pudding?

Oh, ice cream was his favourite pudding.

And I don't think he could have failed to like that, it was so good.

The final dish of the day is Raymond's comfort with style

dessert, intended to be a homecoming treat for soldiers

returning from the D-Day campaign.

His gingerbread and parsnip pudding with brown butter ice cream

scored a nine from Tom.

Well, he said if I thickened the custard, it's worth a ten.

-Really?

-So, I've thickened the custard.

Raymond starts his plate with his gingerbread and parsnip pudding

and sweet chestnut puree.

Next - his chestnut brittle.

With Chris helping to fill miniature jerry cans with malt custard.

Are you sure the custard's going to come out?

Do you want to do a tester, chef?

-I think it's going to come out.

-OK.

He serves it all up with his brown butter ice cream in helmets.

Maybe...

could have done with a little more custard.

OK. Thank you, ladies.

-Mmm.

-Mmm.

This looks great, doesn't it?

This is something before I even eat it,

I can see that at a banquet.

What do you think?

-A wee bit concerned it might be too thick.

-Yeah.

That's my only concern, the custard.

Having to wait half an hour for your custard to arrive is a bit...

But what custard? Look, I got a smear.

Well, look, I'm trying.

I think getting this brief right was more important,

you know, with D-Day?

Yeah.

And sometimes, some of the food...

The cake is very solid, isn't it?

It's solid and dry.

When you look at it and read the menu,

I just can't taste the parsnips on it.

I like the little helmet, I think that's sweet.

I do find the brown butter in there, I think that's the best bit, really.

But after that, it's a course of diminishing returns, really,

isn't it?

It's just this waiting game now. The waiting, Ray.

I can't contemplate losing this one.

Yes.

I can't.

It's been to and fro all day.

Ray's first course was fantastic and Chris's pudding was fantastic.

But where the competition really lies is for the fish

and the main courses because they were so close.

They clearly enjoyed what they were doing

and they clearly researched it all very well.

I think it was really close. I really do.

I think it's too close to call, you know?

Going home empty-handed is just not nice.

It's going to be a tough call and I really mean that.

-Ray, good luck, mate.

-And you, good luck.

Welcome, chefs.

How are you feeling?

Exhausted.

Anxious.

Honestly, you both produced some amazing dishes that have

really evoked the British wartime spirit.

But I'm sure you want to know who the chef is going forward to the

finals of the Great British Menu.

The winner is...

..Chris.

-Ray.

-Well done, mate.

Thank you very much. Such a hard week.

I'm just...pff.

Raymond, how do you feel?

I'm gutted.

I'm gutted but he's a fine cook.

You just lost it on the pudding.

It was that close.

Chris, your standout dishes obviously were the fish

and, of course, the rice pudding ice cream.

I thought it was really wonderful.

I gave you a nine for that.

Thank you so much.

What would it take to get a ten?

My grandfather would have loved it cos he loved ice cream.

Ice cream all the way, with him.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

You know the standout dish for me,

which was the very first dish we had...?

Which was the pigeon post.

And the pigeon was cooked to perfection.

And I must say it was up and down.

It was a roller coaster, to be honest.

Chris, well done. We look forward to seeing you in the finals.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you both very much.

-Thank you.

Well done, lad.

I don't know what to say.

I'm absolutely elated.

I feel terrible for Ray

cos it really could have been either of them.

Oh.

Horrible feeling.

Horrible.

Ray...

Well done.

Well done.

I just want to be there at the banquet

and just be able to give something back to those veterans

that sacrificed so much for us.

Cheers, Chris.

-You've done really well.

-Ray.

Congratulations, man.

Thank you, Ray. Thank you.