North West Dessert Great British Menu

This week on Great British Menu,

three of the North West's finest chefs.

Returning contender, Mary-Ellen McTague...

I'm hoping this is going to be a good surprise.

..Jason Atherton protege, James Durrant...

I've a lot to do on here, and a lot to get right, really.

..and ambitious first-timer, Mark Ellis...

If I could make it edible, I would, believe me.

..are going head-to-head to get their dishes to a banquet

commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day,

to be held at the magnificent St Paul's Cathedral.

Yesterday's main saw Mary-Ellen fight back.

Looking good, Mary-Ellen. Sure smells lovely.

But it was James who took the glory.

Chief, I'm shaking just telling you it...

I'm going to give you a ten.

Today is dessert course.

It is custard, and stop going on about it.

And it's a fight to get to the judges' chamber...

I didn't see you presenting it like that.

Got to be careful with this.

Couple of drops too many and it's back to the drawing board.

Anything can happen in here.

..as only two chefs will get to cook again tomorrow.

So, for the scores...

DISTANT GUNFIRE

This year, the chefs are paying tribute

to the Second World War heroes

who fought on the beaches of Normandy 70 years ago.

They've been challenged to produce dishes

evoking the spirit of wartime Britain...

-Do you think this dish honours our veterans?

-100%.

Hello.

..and have seen how their families

and communities were affected by the war.

The uncertainty of these bombs coming over...

Judging the chefs this week is a twice former banquet champion,

two Michelin star heavyweight, Daniel Clifford.

Today I'm looking for a surprise.

Last year, I got my dessert to the banquet,

I was totally overwhelmed by it.

That's what I'm looking for, still passion, still pushing,

still wanting this more than anything.

-So, how you feeling, guys?

-Not as good as you!

Good day, yesterday, weren't it? - Really good.

I feel really good after yesterday. Very happy with my score.

I think we all pulled it out of the bag.

Obviously I finished bottom of the pile,

-but someone's got to, haven't they?

-Yeah, it's really close.

-There's a point between us.

-There's a lot to do.

I've got a big day on my hands,

so I'm going to be head down and moody today.

-- OK, nice.

-Nice to see.

-LAUGHTER

First up, in last place, is determined newcomer, Mark Ellis.

His use of chemicals in his modern twist on his nan's recipes

has seen him struggle to impress Daniel.

He scored a seven yesterday for his main course,

leaving him trailing rival Mary-Ellen.

You want to put it behind it, it's everything to play for.

I'm just hoping her dish isn't as strong as mine.

Mine is executed perhaps a little bit better,

there's not going to be a lot of room for error on this one.

Tell me about the dish.

It's my take on a apple pie and custard, basically.

Tell me where the inspiration for this dish came from.

Well, as throughout the rest of the competition on the menu,

it's been my nan.

She found it really easy to get a hold of apples when she was younger.

It was pretty much the only fruit they could get a hold of

during the war.

OK, well, take me through this array of beautiful ingredients.

OK, so, first thing I'm going to do

is caramelise some of these lovely green apples in butter and sugar.

OK.

I'm going to make an apple fluid gel,

with freshly pressed apple juice.

That's going to be bound with Ultratex,

try not to hide the natural flavours.

I'm going to make an apple pie mousse,

using apple pie flavour compound.

You're not going to use apples at all, you're using a compound?

Yeah, I'm going to use a compound for the mousse.

I find you get a really nice flavour that counteracts

the sharpness of freshly baked apples.

I'm going to make a warm ice cream,

using evaporated milk.

-A warm ice cream?

-Yeah.

So, that's the sort of custard element.

-This sounds very Mark-y.

-Yeah.

Is this a risk?

I think, if there's one dish on my menu

that can really wow you today, it'll be the dessert.

Mark's dessert... Apple Orchard,

blackberries and warm ice cream.

Once again, he's got potions, and powders, and flavour compounds.

If he puts too much of that in, it's not going to taste of apple.

Is that really what you're looking for in a dessert?

Next up, in second place, is returning chef, Mary-Ellen McTague.

After a disaster with her fish course,

she redeemed herself with her main, scoring a strong eight.

I'm a little nervous about this dessert course.

It's my last chance to get a place in the judges' chamber,

and there's only a point in it, it's really close.

It depends very much on whether Daniel sees the story or not.

Right, tell me the inspiration for this dish.

It's beetroot, parsnip and chocolate cakes,

with milk and honey.

The inspiration for this dish,

as with all the dishes on the menu,

is to do with my husband's grandparents,

in particular his nanna, Vera,

who told me a story about when she was a girl during the war,

they used a carrot in the Christmas pudding

-because they didn't have enough sugar due to rationings...

-OK.

..so they put a carrot in to add sweetness.

And then, when I was doing some research

and looking at wartime cookbooks,

there were loads of recipes for desserts using root vegetables.

Obviously, there's the vegetables

going in the beetroot and chocolate cakes.

Do you think this is a risk?

I think beetroot really works with chocolate, I really like it.

And then we've got some fructose,

which is going into another part of the dessert,

the beetroot marshmallow,

so that's made with fresh beetroot juice.

-It's a very, very different box from what I expected from you.

-Really?

Yeah, it is.

I was thinking, I'm going to take some ingredients

that are normally served as a savoury thing,

and make a dessert with them,

but then present them in a way that you might expect it to be savoury.

Mary-Ellen's doing a dessert that's meant to deceive the eye.

It's going to be something that's sweet

that looks like savoury.

I don't really get where that fits in with the brief.

Last up is current leader, James Durrant,

who's led his rival chefs all week,

reaching a peak yesterday with his main course.

I think getting that ten was massive,

and I want it to continue, I want to have that feeling again

and make sure I can confidently get through to the judges on Friday.

-Morning, Chef.

-Morning.

-You all right?

-Very good, thank you.

-Still smiling?

-Yep, been smiling all night.

-Yeah, I know how that feels.

Right, sell it to me.

We've got sticky toffee apple pudding,

so I wanted to start with the real kind of classic British pudding.

It's kind of a timeline from my starter through to today,

and this is where we are now in the future,

and where we are because of all of them brave heroes from the past.

Yeah.

I'm starting with a basic kind of sponge, really light,

and then I'm going to make a real rich toffee sauce

with this dark brown sugar.

Two types of apple.

Green apples, I'm turning them into toffee apples,

-so it'll give it a real nice crunch on the plate.

-Yep.

To finish it off, some walnuts.

I think the dish's going to be very sweet,

it needs a little bit of bitterness to it,

so we've got a walnut paste,

almost sweet and sour kind of flavour with it there.

-And then cinnamon ice cream.

-OK.

Is there going to be any tens today?

I think, if you're willing to give some out,

-mine is definitely a contender.

-LAUGHTER

I love your confidence.

Your confidence is key to your cooking.

But just enjoy it.

James is making sticky toffee pudding.

If he doesn't get this dessert right, by overpowering it with walnuts,

too much cinnamon,

I'd hate to send him home.

He really has got to make sure this is perfect today.

With just two places in the judges' chamber at stake,

it's second-timer, Mary-Ellen's

beetroot, parsnip and chocolate cake dessert

which is already raising eyebrows.

-What, a veg for dessert?

-That's the whole point.

I really like beetroot and chocolate anyway...

Quite subjective, aren't they, though? Acquired tastes.

I'm sure I've seen parsnips as well, I mean, carrots?

Not just a normal brownie, then.

- It's not going to look like a brownie at all.

There's only a point in it.

It means everything to me to get to the judges.

I've got to knock Mary-Ellen out first.

She's the obstacle in my way.

I'm not convinced that her vegetable dessert's going to work.

I really hope it doesn't.

Anything can happen in here, just because of the pressure.

And things can just go wrong for no good reason.

Hoping to beat Mary-Ellen to the judges' chamber,

determined Mark is again adopting his risky strategy

of turning food on its head,

with his Normandy apple orchard millefeuille and hedgerow dessert,

including an unusual take on an old favourite.

-I'm quite intrigued by this hot ice cream.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

Doesn't sound like it makes sense, does it?

- It sounds like custard to me. - It sounds exactly like custard.

-That's what custard is, essentially, though isn't it?

-Well, yeah.

-So, is it custard?

-Um...

Yeah, in a sense.

Having taken a simpler approach to his main,

Mark's dessert sees him back to using chemical compounds

for his apple and blackberry fluid gels.

Got to be careful with this, a couple of drops too many

and it's back to drawing board.

He's so cool.

He's standing there, he's mixing his creams, he's adding his potions.

But he's got so many chemicals going into it,

it really worries me whether it's going to taste natural.

I've not used flavour enhancers,

I've very rarely used food colouring.

Does it always pay off? I'm not sure.

Jason Atherton's protege, James, has a five-point lead,

but knows he can't relax if he's to cook for the judges tomorrow.

James, do you think you might be playing

it a bit safe with this dessert?

No. I wish I was, to be honest with you.

His complex sticky toffee apple pudding dessert

contains walnut paste and cinnamon flavour ice cream.

I wanted to really show a proper British pudding, you know,

and show it off,

and some of the people are going to recognise it at the banquet.

-Yeah.

-I wanted to look at it, and how we are as a nation,

how we progress, so I've changed it a little bit, I've modernised it.

-Still tastes like sticky toffee pudding?

-Yes.

Taken the dates out, so maybe a little bit of a risk.

It might throw people a little bit.

I love sticky toffee pudding.

Well, I hope you like mine.

To research his dish,

James travelled to Sharrow Bay Hotel in the Lake District,

often credited as the birth place of sticky toffee pudding,

where late head chef Francis Coulson put it on the map.

-Hi, James, how you doing?

-You all right?

It's still made with the same recipe today

by current head chef, Mark Teasdale.

Francis introduced the pudding in the 1970s,

and it's been extremely popular ever since.

So, the classic pudding that we think's a lot older than that

only really dates back to the '70s?

Yes, but Mr Coulson got his inspiration

from a lady down in Lancashire, who ran a B&B.

And there was this date cake recipe

-that I think he quite liked the concept of.

-Yep.

But he then added the toffee sauce to it,

which kind of brought it together.

That's amazing.

The guesthouse was owned by Peggy Martin in 1970s.

On the hunt for the original recipe,

James met former cook Dorothy, and waitress, Agnes,

who recalled their time working there when Francis Coulson visited.

He used to come quite often,

him and the other chap were good friends of Peggy Martin's.

-Quite a surprise when she gave it away, the recipe.

-Yeah.

Actually, one time I said to her, where is the recipe?

And she said, it's in a book, and she said it came from Canada.

And it said that the King and Queen

had gone to Canada just before the war,

and that at one of the banquets they made this pudding up,

and it was called Queen Elizabeth pudding,

and it was sticky toffee pudding.

James has his own take on sticky toffee pudding.

The cake I'm doing is slightly different,

in the sense that I've left the dates out.

No, it needs dates. THEY ALL LAUGH

It's sacrilege, yes.

Will Dorothy approve of the 21st century version?

It's all right.

It'll pass.

Dorothy didn't like the idea

of me replacing the dates with the apple in the pudding.

I'm going to go with it, I think.

I really like the idea of apples and toffee.

I'm hoping she doesn't mind too much.

Higher scoring chef James still has a lot to do.

-How many pans have you got on the stove, Chef?

-Just four.

-Just four (!)

-For now, yeah. There's more coming, though.

His cinnamon ice cream is chilling.

He's made his walnut paste,

and has moved on to the mini toffee apples

for his sticky toffee apple pudding.

-Caramel done, Chef?

-Yeah, caramel's done, 140 degrees.

It's interesting that you put them straight into the water,

I've never seen that happen before.

Want to hold that shape, so it's just going to cool it off.

Does that not affect the caramel at all?

No, no, it sets it straightaway.

-Am I going to have to worry about my teeth?

-Hope not.

Mary-Ellen, who's just one point ahead of Mark,

is using vegetables to sweeten her dessert,

including a beetroot marshmallow and technical bee pollen sphere.

She's kept her deceptive presentation under wraps,

and needs to convince Daniel she's hit the brief.

Where I come from, we use black pudding to do Scotch eggs,

so it's going to be a black pudding Scotch egg.

-This is a part of the presentation of the dessert.

-All right.

This is going to be the white of an egg,

and the pollen sphere is going to be the yolk of an egg.

You've got the parsnip crumb on the outside,

and the egg in the middle.

If you're not into beetroot in desserts,

then you might have an issue with it.

-Yep.

-I think it really works.

Mary-Ellen's making a Scotch egg.

I really don't know what to say about this.

If she doesn't get these techniques right

and pull them together just perfectly,

it's game over for Mary-Ellen.

It's ambitious Mark who's first to plate up

his Normandy Apple Orchard And Hedgerow dessert,

hoping to secure a spot in tomorrow's regional final.

Is that the hot ice cream?

It looks like custard.

It is custard, and stop going on about it!

He kicks off his dish with a blackberry gel smear

and fresh blackberries,

then dots of apple and blackberry gel.

To complete his millefeuille of apple compression

and cinnamon filo pastry,

he adds apple pie mousse and fresh blackberry,

and tops with more of the mousse.

He finished the millefeuille with a filo disc...

..dots it with blackberry and apple fluid gels,

and adds dried apple blossom.

He serves on a bed of apples,

with the controversial hot ice cream in mini milk churns.

Would this make your nan proud?

-I think so, Chef.

-OK.

-You're not expecting me to eat all these apples?

-No, Chef.

-Shall we go and try it?

-Yes, please.

-OK.

-Really beautiful.

-Yeah.

-Really, really lovely looking dish.

-Looks gorgeous.

-I think his nan will be proud of that.

-Yeah.

- I think this is a strong dessert.

I think it's really heartfelt,

it's really close to the brief, in my opinion.

I've really put everything into this.

-So, this is the apple pie mousse?

-Yes, Chef.

-And the filo pastry?

Yep.

Is that the consistency you were looking for?

The mousse is velvety smooth,

-the pastry's nice and crisp. Yeah, I'm happy.

-OK.

That's amazing, I love that.

-This is the apple fluid gel?

-Yes.

Nice, I think it brings a little bit of acidity back into the dish.

Fresh flavour.

Oh. Oh, goodness.

I just got a mouthful of something really strong.

I think it might be too much apple oil.

-I'd hate for it to be synthetic.

-OK.

DANIEL CLEARS THROAT LOUDLY

-It tastes quite chemically, doesn't it?

-It does.

It's really overpowering, that.

-What about this? This is the warm ice cream?

-Yeah.

Is that the texture you wanted?

Yeah, it's really nice and light.

It's obviously a play on custard.

I don't want to overuse the word custard, cos, I mean,

that's what it is essentially,

but that's what ice cream is, just frozen, so...

Trying to play on words.

-That's nice.

-Don't get why he's called it ice cream, though.

No, it's not, is it? It's custard.

The big question...

And you need some points.

How many would you give that?

I'd honestly give that an eight.

- Hiya. - You all right?

-Yeah.

-How'd that go?

All right, yeah. I've done everything I can now, so...

-Yeah, you've worried us.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-That's nice to know.

Next up is returning contender, Mary-Ellen,

and her unusual vegetable-based dessert.

She scoops out the centres of her frozen hazelnut milk egg whites,

and places them in her chocolate brownie Scotch egg casings.

I didn't see you presenting it like that.

-So, it's a Scotch egg?

-Yeah.

Mary-Ellen begins plating up with a drag of carrot toffee,

then coats her brownie Scotch eggs in parsnip crumb.

Next, the technical bee pollen spherification yolks for her eggs.

You know when people watch you do stuff,

I don't know if you've noticed, but it tends to go wrong.

Yeah, can you go away now, please?

The completed Scotch eggs go on the plate,

followed by cubes of beetroot marshmallow...

..and dots of hazelnut butter.

-Well. Scotch egg.

-Yes.

This is exactly how you wanted it?

-Almost.

-Almost.

-OK, well, let's go and taste it.

-OK, cool.

-Be nice.

-Always. Be confident.

-Yeah.

I've loved the journey you've given me.

Explain to me your thought process behind this.

I wanted to take an old way of using vegetables

and turn it into a new way of using vegetables.

-That's interesting.

-Yeah, wow, bit of a surprise, isn't it?

-Didn't picture that.

-Not at all.

This is the outside of the Scotch egg?

Yeah, so that's the beetroot and chocolate brownie.

Really like the flavour. Tiniest bit dry.

You getting the beetroot and the brownie?

-Not really. Seems a bit lost in the chocolate.

-Yeah.

-This brown sauce, what is that?

-That's hazelnut butter.

Do you think there's enough of that on the plate?

Um, possibly not, actually, no.

What's this sauce?

That's the hazelnut oil.

-Has it got the wow factor?

-I am really happy with that.

-OK.

Not often I say that about anything.

-- Yeah, you can taste that real earthy beetroot, can't you?

-Yeah.

I really like that.

Do you think the veterans will get this dish?

I think, if you didn't know, if that was put down in front of you,

you wouldn't necessarily expect to be eating veg,

but I think that's the visual trick, the fact that it's hidden.

- I'm going to give it a seven,

purely on the fact that I don't know if the veterans

are going to get that.

I just think that a couple of the flavours might be a bit lost,

but I really like what she's done.

Yeah, so, don't know how that went, again,

but I'm happier with that than I thought I was going to be.

You know, I thought the flavours were right.

And so, whether or not Daniel likes it, I don't know.

Last up is current leader, James,

and his modern interpretation of sticky toffee pudding.

How do you feel about this one, James?

-Well, after tasting them two, pretty nervous, actually.

-Really?

Yeah, you guys have done a good job there, and I'm...

certainly up against some big competition, now, aren't I?

-You OK?

-How'd you get on?

- All right.

-I'm done. I'm done, it's brilliant.

-Good feeling, isn't it?

Really good feeling. - Stop rubbing it in.

Nearly there, nearly there.

James starts his plate with his apple puree.

Then it's mini toffee apples and walnut paste balls.

You don't think the veterans might expect it made with dates?

They might do, but they're not going to get it that way.

His toffee sauce topped toffee cake is next.

Looks spot on to me, Chef.

Dots of toffee sauce

and quenelles of his cinnamon ice cream complete the plate.

Would this honour the war veterans of D-Day?

I think it would certainly spoil them,

and I think it's my take on a proper British pudding.

-OK. Let's go and taste it.

-Let's go.

-Nice dessert?

-Yeah, very nice.

It's a shame that his cream hasn't held, though.

-Ice-cream's tricky...

-Yeah.

-..anyway, for a banquet.

As a plate of food, you happy?

Yes.

-Toffee apples?

-Yes, toffee apple.

HE CRUNCHES ON TOFFEE APPLE

-Not going to break any teeth?

-Nope.

-They are very good.

-Mhmm.

This is the sticky toffee sponge.

Is that the consistency you were looking for?

Yea, I think it's a good consistency, that.

It's a little bit... A touch soggy, I think.

I'm not sure he'll be 100% happy with that sponge.

-This is the apple puree?

-Yep.

-And this is the cinnamon ice cream?

-Yes.

-Not too strong?

-No, I like it.

I think it lifts it and gives it that extra element.

That is a beautiful texture on the ice cream.

The apple puree's fantastic.

Has it got the wow factor?

It sticks to its roots of it being a proper British pudding,

and I hope it's going to impress some veterans.

Is the cooking good? Yes, for me.

Um...

Just not sure whether the veterans would get it.

-Hey.

-How you doing?

-All done?

Yeah, relief. I think today was hard.

I think we all feel pretty happy with the desserts we've put up.

Unfortunately, one of us has got to go.

Good evening, chefs.

This is the most difficult part,

cos only two of you are going to go through to the judging chamber.

I'm going to start with you, James...

..for your sticky toffee pudding, with cinnamon ice cream.

I really thought it was another good idea.

I can see the war veterans sitting there,

enjoying the flavours on the plate.

Cinnamon ice cream, beautiful depth,

lovely consistency.

But...

..the sponge needs to be soaking up the sauce a little bit more,

so it just gets a bit more gooier.

The apple puree tasted slightly buttery.

Stick a little bit of salt on there, just to cut through it all.

If you go through, I think you need to tweak this dish,

to make it better.

Mark...

..for your Apple Orchard Hedgerow

with blackberries and warm ice cream.

I thought it was another lovely dish.

Lovely idea, and you brought your nan all the way through the journey.

The dish absolutely LOOKED fantastic.

The pastry, really nice crisp texture, I loved the flavour.

But...

I was expecting a really firm, warm ice cream.

It was more like a foam.

The apple fluid gel, it looked great on the plate,

but I just wanted some fresh apple in it.

It tasted of chemicals.

And for you, Mary-Ellen.

With your beetroot parsnip chocolate cake, milk and honey.

The veg, I thought it was an unusual idea.

The beetroot marshmallow,

I really enjoyed that.

The parsnip and chocolate brownie...

I thought that was really nice.

But...

You made this beautiful hazelnut butter,

and I couldn't see it on the plate.

But the disappointing thing for me is,

you've shown me your history this week,

and I thought I was going to see

a dessert which was going to be a celebration,

and I couldn't see where that fitted in with the rest of your menu.

It just didn't feel like a welcome-home treat.

So, for the scores.

With a score of seven,

and the person who's going through with the highest score this week...

-..it's you, James. Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Well done, mate.

So, we've got two chefs left,

but only one of you can go through to the judging chamber.

Mary-Ellen...

for your beetroot and parsnip cake

I'm giving you...

..I'm giving you a five.

Mark...

..for your orchard and hedgerow.

I'm giving you...

..I'm giving you a five as well, Mark.

So, Mary-Ellen, you're going through to the judges, congratulations.

-How do you feel?

-Um, a bit shaky.

Mark, how do you feel?

Naturally, gutted. Absolutely devastated.

But I'm going to walk out of that door with my head held high.

I'm sure you'll get another opportunity to come back,

and show us the real Mark on a plate.

Thank you very much.

Thanks, Chef. Thanks.

-You'll come back.

-Thank you.

James and Mary-Ellen will cook for the judges tomorrow,

but Mark must leave the competition.

-Thank you.

-I'm blown away, really. I'm really, really happy.

-I didn't want to go home at all.

-Well done.

I thought I was gone. So, it was a real shock to get through.

-Thank you.

-Best of luck to you both.

To not cook for the veterans is, um...

a blow that I wasn't expecting, to be honest.

I think you've both got a big day.

Really, really want to get through to finals week now.

Anyone could go through, and I want that one to be me.

-Tomorrow, Mary-Ellen and James go head-to-head...

-Gloves off today.

..cooking their four dishes again for the judges.

-Both pretty busy here, aren't we?

-Yeah, it's quite tense.

But only one will be victorious.

I don't care if I ever see this pudding again in my life.

This is one of the best dishes I've ever eaten.

And the winner is...