Episode 19 Instant Restaurant

Two rival amateur cooks are converting their homes into restaurants.

It's absolute hell right now.

I should just say, "I'm sorry, this is how it comes.

"This is the dish. I'm not changing it."

They've been given just one day...

We're losing the plot a bit, kids.

..and a budget of up to £200.

It's frightening. Recommend it? Nah.

20 strangers will be judging the results.

It'll be entirely up to the diners to decide how much or how little they pay.

I really enjoyed it.

There was nothing on my plate at the end of it!

That definitely is a hair.

No, David!

So, can the cooks deliver the goods, and will either of them make a profit?

Hello and welcome to Instant Restaurant,

the ultimate challenge in home-cooking.

Today's two rivals are putting their culinary skills on the line, both brave enough to believe

they have what it takes to tempt paying strangers and walk away with a profit.

Today, we're heading to the wilds of Dartmoor

to visit two new instant restaurants.

First up, this stunning Georgian house,

home to 46-year-old writer Sophie Partridge.

It's filled with treasures collected from around the world,

but when choosing the name of her restaurant,

she decided to keep it in the family.

The name of the restaurant is Partridge's, which is my surname.

Partridge is my surname.

And the name's not the only thing she's keeping close to home.

I really believe in local food and organic food,

although I think in a way local's more important than organic.

Although her eclectic menu takes its inspiration from her travels,

most of the ingredients are locally grown, including some from her own back garden.

I grew the garlic, all the herbs, the parsley

and the spring onions, the chard.

Very impressive!

Her rival today is 49-year-old local auctioneer Paul Arrowsmith.

He's just as keen on showcasing local produce, especially what's in his own back garden.

Or should that be back poly tunnel?

Ever since I was a wee smidgen, always growing something.

We've got a few leaf vegetables that we're going to use,

which is the Black Russian kale, we're going to use the spinach, going to use some chard,

and then also we have got Japanese leaves and a bit of mustard leaves and fennel to go with the salads.

-Well, he can certainly garden, but can he cook?

-Yeah, I love it.

He's counting on the cosy character of his ancient Devon home to wow his diners.

We're very lucky and fortunate to have this Devon longhouse.

We've got these enormous features of the huge fireplace and the beams and things that are still there.

He's named his restaurant Grandma Pongo's.

Not after a beloved granny, but after his beloved Dalmatian.

Here, we have got Monsieur Pongo.

He's a beautiful chap. He does anything for food.

He knows never to trust a thin chef!

But this challenge is about so much more than food.

Both cooks must also transform their homes into attractive, inviting restaurants,

where, hopefully, their diners will feel more like paying top whack.

Each cook is allowed two assistants to help them pull it off.

-You need to go...

-Alongside Sophie and her countryside kitchen is

family friend Sky, who will be her sous chef and hopefully bring extra skill and know-how to the table.

The tricky part is getting the right amount of butter...

on the toast.

Ah, well, hopefully Sophie's partner Pete will inspire more confidence.

Chef...

the cuisine...

fantastic.

And he has some potentially useful qualities.

My partner Pete is a psychic tarot reader, so...

yes, it would be great if we could totally predict how many people would eat what.

So, Pete, any predictions?

Ah. Candles.

Candles need to be lit.

Candles! Does that mean there'll be a power cut?

Over at Paul's, his friend Jane will be front of house.

I think Paul will be absolutely fine under the pressure, absolutely.

I am hoping that he will actually enjoy the experience.

And Paul's leaving nothing to chance by carefully planning everything with his second helper, Tim.

Mixing it all together,

you're giving them a chance to experience flavours

which they are perhaps not quite expecting.

Both cooks have been given an allowance of up to £200.

Sophie needed only a thrifty £85,

so to make a profit, her guests will have to pay nearly £9 a head.

Her rival Paul has asked for nearly twice as much - £163 -

so he will meet to take a mite over £16 a head just to break even.

So, we've got Grandma Pongo's taste of the countryside

against Partridge's relaxed elegance.

Wow, I think that looks fabulous.

-Beautiful.

-Sophie admits to being a perfectionist, so surely this will please her.

I am hoping I don't make any mistakes.

The only thing that doesn't... This is a small knife.

-Uh-oh! Something's up!

-They've got to be big knives.

You have to make sure there's enough room, or you'll have to put a plate down

and you don't want to be faffing around with their cutlery.

If they're too small, you won't get the plate in there.

Darling, you're so demanding.

Yeah, too right! We're running a restaurant. I need to be demanding.

HE LAUGHS

So, while Pete crossed his palms with the silver...

the guests start to arrive. Ten strangers at each house.

-Is that the doorbell? Ah!

-Please come on in.

At the end of the night, it'll be entirely up to them how much they pay.

At Paul's, things are shaping up nicely.

It's very nice, yes. It's lovely.

The restaurant's really nicely laid out.

It's really nice, yeah.

Very romantic. Beautiful setting.

It's very nicely laid out. Very nice place.

Looking forward to eating some good food.

Meanwhile, over at Sophie's...

Welcome to Partridge's Instant Restaurant.

Hope you can have a good evening.

Pete's aiming to make a big impression.

If you'd like to follow me in, please find a seat. I will get you a menu.

And first reactions are promising.

Fantastic, isn't it? The room is, you know, the ambience is beautiful.

How can you not like it, really?

It feels grand, but it doesn't feel really stuffy,

and it doesn't feel precious. It feels quite homely.

I'd love to come again, have a proper nose around. It looks nice.

I have to tell you, I'm not used to this waitering lark!

We met our host. He looks like a real character, actually, like he's got a real story to tell.

He made us feel incredibly welcome.

Wow, well, both cooks have got off to a flying start. Stunning restaurants, stunned guests.

You can't get much better than that, but will their menus be up to the same high standard? Let's find out.

It's time for the starters.

Sophie's kicking off with a choice of two hearty dishes.

West Country mushrooms cooked with garlic in a creamy Madeira sauce

and piled on walnut bread toast.

Or an exotic spicy Thai seafood soup, made with

monkfish and prawns, flavoured with green curry paste, coconut and lime.

So these are two personal favourites of mine.

I mean, whenever I see fish soup on a menu in a restaurant,

I just have to have that.

Those sound absolutely super. If I was there, I'd go for the mushrooms.

I think I've got some competition there!

Well, let's see, shall we?

Sophie began the prep for her starters by packing

some punchy flavour into those mushrooms.

I've done ten cloves of garlic.

Sounds like a lot. And a lot of parsley.

She's sauteed them over a hot flame in olive oil and butter until they were nicely browned.

Now I'm going to put Madeira in.

Just let that cook off a bit...

I'm not a great alcohol drinker,

but I love cooking with alcohol - it just gives it something so unique.

I think sherry is a really good thing to cook with.

And wine and Madeira, port...

You can just do so many things with all those drinks.

Mm. You certainly can.

I'm going to add the cream.

But Sophie's got a high-risk strategy -

in the interests of watching the pennies,

she's only cooking five portions of each dish. Hope it doesn't cost her.

I've taken what I suppose is a little bit of a gamble,

in that I am not doing extra food.

I've kind of just guessed how many people will want each dish.

If that goes well, I hope it will pay off,

cos it'll save me the budget.

Wonder if Mystic Pete helped make that decision.

Let's just hope exactly half the diners go for the second starter.

The Thai fish soup with a base of coconut milk and stock

with a splosh of fish sauce.

Some lime juice.

Diced potatoes and chopped chillies from the garden.

Then I've got some good quality green curry paste. Goes in there.

The soup was then left to simmer.

She then added chopped chard and spring onions from the garden,

and finally in go the monkfish and prawns.

We don't want to overcook it.

Otherwise it loses its succulence.

That is really good.

Hope the diners agree - or half of them, at least.

Come service time, Pete takes the orders, subtly influencing them

to choose exactly five of each.

So for starters...?

-The soup to start, please.

-Certainly.

The same. Sorry!

-You were next, I believe.

-Yes.

The mushrooms.

The mushrooms. Thank God for that!

So it looks like they've got away with the portion gamble.

Speaking of which, they look pretty massive.

Oh, God - presentation. No, I think it's better to leave it.

Hope her diners are hungry.

Mushroom, madam.

Chef, get on the ball, please.

Shut up, darling! You're not helping.

I beg you, Chef, get on the ball.

Go steady, so that it doesn't slop.

-Yes, Chef.

-They look pretty sizable, too.

And back in the kitchen, Pete's predicting trouble.

They looked like a nice steady bunch of diners, apart from the gentleman I'm very worried about.

He had a mouthful of mushrooms and balked.

-Darling, are we...?

-I knew he was one of them when he came through the door.

But I'm not going to reveal his identity until the end of the evening.

One thing I will say about Pete is you cannot believe everything that he says.

-In fact, to use a culinary term, you need a big pinch of salt!

-No more salt, please!

But, have any of the diners really balked at their food?

I thought it was lovely. I really enjoyed it.

I had the mushrooms and I thought they were very nice, actually.

It's not always easy to cook mushrooms, and it was a good balance.

I had the Thai soup which was absolutely delicious.

I love fish soups. My favourite food in the world

is probably a chowder from New England,

so it was wonderful to see. Loved it, yeah.

Three "compliments to the chef" and everyone said it was delicious.

But in the privacy of the diners' den, the reviews are rather more mixed.

I had mushrooms with Madeira sauce on some toast. It was nice.

The toast was a little bit soggy, which is not great, but the mushrooms

were cooked in a really lovely sauce, really rich flavours.

It's rare I say this in a restaurant, but there was a bit too much.

That's not something I'd ever say.

But it was really nice. Just a shame about the soggy toast.

For starters we both had mushrooms.

We both thought it could have done with a little more flavour.

We enjoyed it, and we thought the bread was too thick.

-Could have done with a Melba toast.

-More like French toast.

Yeah, something a bit thinner. It was a bit too heavy.

So mainly positive comments for Sophie's first courses.

Can Paul manage to please all his diners?

Paul's offering a salad of pan-seared pigeon breast,

served on baby leaves

with a dressing of home-grown raspberries and balsamic vinegar.

Or pan-fried scallops topped with crispy bacon

served with a tangy citrus sauce of clementines and Cointreau.

The starters I have chosen are both light starters.

The pigeon is one of my favourites,

which I would like other people to try, too.

Those sound really interesting flavours.

I've had scallops and bacon together

but never with clementines and Cointreau.

I'd be really curious to try that.

Hm, I know what you mean, Sophie. It's a first for me, too.

Paul began his fruity-themed starters

by making the raspberry sauce for the pigeon salad.

These were freshly frozen less than one month ago.

He heated the raspberries until they broke down to a puree.

The smell of raspberries coming out of there already!

Then sieved them to remove the seeds.

They've been reduced down to get the maximum from the fruit. Done.

Paul's convinced it's a winning combination.

Gamey meats tend to lend themselves towards fruit quite a lot.

Absolutely superb. I have no problem with putting it together.

Next, he prepared the pigeon meat, but he'll only sear it briefly

in a pan and assemble the salad just before service.

The second starter is scallops with a citrus sauce.

Paul trimmed the orange coral from the scallops in advance and prepared the garnishes for the dish.

Juicy clementine segments were flashed under the grill and

he pre-cooked the strips of crispy bacon which will top each scallop.

Everything else for the dish will have to be done at the last moment.

It's a big challenge.

When orders are in, he realises just how big a challenge.

-On go the pigeon breasts.

-They're just going to be pink in the middle.

Nobody's asked for them not to be pink.

Home-grown salad is on the plates, but come on, Paul. Come on!

You can just hear Nadia Sawalha saying, "Paul's plates are on the side and they're going cold!"

Funnily enough, that's exactly what I was going to say!

Losing the plot here a bit, kids.

No, you're not. Just drizzle the raspberry dressing and you're good to go.

Next, the scallops. A quick flash in the pan before they're soused in a drop of Cointreau.

Actually, make that a pint.

Salad leaves to dress.

More home-grown salad leaves as garnish,

the clementine topping and the dish is ready to leave the kitchen.

Phew!

Immediately the compliments begin flowing.

Look at that - it's like a work of art!

Got a good flavour to it, hasn't it?

Well, they seem pretty happy, but behind closed doors,

what do the diners really think?

The starter I chose was the scallops, which is always a favourite of mine,

and it was absolutely delicious, I have to say.

The scallops were cooked very nicely,

but I don't like seafood so I didn't like them.

Why did you order them, then?!

-I'm really looking forward to my main.

-So what about the pigeon?

Paul wanted his diners to give it a go, but has it paid off?

I associate a pigeon with a bird you see in town centres that scare me,

so it wasn't for me.

Then maybe you should have had the scallops, or swapped with the guy next to you.

Everything coming back clear?

The lady left some pigeon, but she'd never tried it before so didn't know if she'd like it.

It was rather...

tough actually, slightly overcooked.

And now one of Paul's guests has found something lurking in his pigeon salad.

That's not a bit of fennel.

The pigeon was very tasty, very nice.

I don't know if you would call it a downside, but I had an added extra

because there was a long black hair in there.

Whether it was a pigeon and hair starter or pigeon on its own I'm not quite sure!

If it's any consolation, it will be home-grown.

Hair in the salad - not the best start for Paul!

And that pigeon crash-landed with some of his diners, too.

Mind you, Sophie's mushrooms didn't do the business with all her customers

and after such hearty portions, I hope they've got enough room left for their mains.

But Sophie's main courses look as substantial as the starters.

She's serving osso buco,

a traditional Italian dish of veal shank

topped with lemon and parsley gremolata,

served with risotto alla Milanese, flavoured with saffron.

Or if they don't fancy veal, the diners could choose chicken -

free range, of course - inspired by the flavours of Italy.

It's braised with lemon and thyme, green olives and sage,

and there's more thyme infused in the mashed potato.

All those lovely herbs remind me of Tuscany.

They sound complicated - like mine - achievable, but really good.

I like those.

Shame you won't be eating them, then!

With just one course down, Pete's already beginning to feel the heat.

Darling, it's like Dante's Inferno in there.

Is it? Go and wipe yourself down. You're absolutely drenched.

Don't stink them out.

Happily the only thing wafting through the dining room is the sweet smell of success.

-I said, "Is everything all right?" and they all said as one, in unison, "It's absolutely delicious."

-Good.

Right, let's get on with this.

While she prepares the main courses, I'll let Sophie explain all about them.

Move over, Nigella, there's a new kid on the block.

What osso buco means is "bone with a hole".

So you can see the bone, and that's the marrow.

When that cooks it will melt and it will create a really lovely gravy.

I really hope people are going to be brave enough

to try that. They might not have tried it before.

But it is really tender and delicious.

Sophie could have a bit of a problem here.

Osso buco is made from veal, which can divide opinion.

But Sophie's veal lived a short but very happy life and she's hoping to persuade her diners to try it.

This veal actually comes from Scotland.

And it's all been raised outside.

It's what they call rose veal, so it's not been kept in the dark.

It's good to eat them, because otherwise those animals

just get destroyed, or sent to the Continent.

So we should be eating veal.

Good luck with convincing your diners about that.

I'm going to get on to the chicken.

Because the osso buco won't appeal to everyone,

I wanted to choose something that was...

familiar.

But I haven't gone too safe, because I'm using plenty of garlic and herbs

and I have to say if there's anybody who doesn't like

garlic or herbs - I bet there's going to be someone like that -

they might have trouble with my cooking.

Ooh, I wouldn't worry about the garlic, Sophie, I love it.

She's sealed the chicken pieces and added stock

and those all-important flavourings.

I'm going to add the lemons as well.

And the anchovy-filled green olives.

Then the whole lot was popped into the oven.

The dishes may be Tuscan, but Sophie's still playing Russian roulette with the portions.

Portion-wise for the mains I have gone straight down the middle

and I've done five chicken and five osso buco. We'll see.

I hope that I've got that right.

So Pete has to make sure that five of their diners choose the controversial veal dish.

Time for a hard sell.

Just a little word about the menu. The osso buco is ethically-farmed veal.

It was delivered from Scotland yesterday.

It's got marrow in the middle, which you're supposed to savour, it's supposed to be very good.

If we don't start eating veal, what happens is they get sent to the continent, or they get destroyed,

the young bullocks that are no good.

It's ethically reared, it's very good. Madam?

-Good effort, Pete.

-Chicken.

He's quite good at selling stuff.

So that's why I want him front of house, because if people are looking a bit, you know if one dish is not

very popular, I think he'll be able to sell it to them.

-He's good at that.

-But how good?

Marvel of marvels - five and five.

Yes! Bingo!

As you could have predicted, Pete's done the trick.

Five orders for veal, five for chicken.

Let's hope the food now lives up to the sales pitch.

OK.

I don't feel I've done very well on presentation, I have to say.

More rustic-looking platefuls prepare to go out to the discerning diners.

Is there any gravy to go on here?

It's all on there. Go on, take it in.

Hello. Chicken?

Thank you very much.

Lovely, thank you. That looks delicious.

-One salad without dressing.

-Thank you very much.

But the psychic wind-up merchant is on the loose again.

Darling, this man, is it true or not?

-Come and see him for yourself.

-No, I don't want to.

-Of course it's true, darling.

-OK.

So what does he want?

Two fried eggs.

If you haven't got toast, he will have two fried eggs. Have you got toast?

I don't know, you tell me, Sky, have we got bread? Have we got toast?

Can you please make a piece of toast and I will make two fried eggs.

Darling? It's a wind up.

-BLEEP

-you!

-Hit him. Go on!

Can you believe he did that to me?

Do you think this isn't stressful enough?

I'm testing you out under pressure.

-I don't need testing.

-You're a good boxer as well.

-Darling, they were saying how lovely the risotto is.

-Good.

-Seriously.

-Really? Good.

-I can't believe he did that to me.

-So no fried eggs and toast then.

Wonder how that veal and chicken's going down.

Presentation was quite rustic, but it was a nice plate of food.

I have a weakness for mashed potato and it totally did it for me.

-So very nice.

-I had the veal.

And it was the first time I'd had it. For controversial reasons, I guess.

But because we were convinced it was ethically farmed, I thought

I would try it and I thought it was quite nice that they chose something that might be a bit controversial.

And it was absolutely delicious.

I went for the chicken and it was absolutely delicious.

She definitely knows what she is doing in the kitchen, the flavour was absolutely amazing.

I loved the mashed potato, loved all the sauces.

I would eat here every night if I could.

-I would say that looks like a hungry person.

-They have been like wild animals.

It's almost bestial. Look at it - it's like a massacre on Dartmoor.

Pretty much unanimous praise for the main courses, but there is one thing everyone agrees on -

Pete has made their night.

I think Mr Partridge is doing a grand job so far.

Quite friendly. Really relaxed.

Really quite natural. It wasn't too formal.

You didn't feel pressurised and at one point he did come and join us

and sat at the table for a while. That is nice. It's quite friendly.

I think his personality gets over a lot.

He's by no means a professional waiter.

But he covers it all up.

He's got something about him that you like straightaway.

I can't say enough rude words.

Not sure Sophie shares their enthusiasm at the moment.

Without a Pete to woo his diners, how will Paul impress his guests with his main courses?

He's hoping to wow them with a menu that couldn't be more local.

He's serving lamb he has raised himself, which he's braising in red wine.

Alongside the meat, he will serve roasted shallots, carrots, kale and mashed potato from the garden.

And like Sophie, Paul has also decided to offer his diners

a chicken option and he's going for a very similar flavours.

His bird is roasted with lemon and thyme

and served on a bed of creamy spinach and roasted vegetables.

Making no apologies, I'm having two meat dishes

and the lamb is absolutely superb.

That sounds delicious.

That is my kind of food. I would like to go to his restaurant.

Hmm, you might not be so keen if you knew what was in the salad.

Anyway, he's decided to showcase his own lamb with his main course,

being rightly proud of this meat that he raises himself.

This is slow-grown Dartmoor lamb, our very own lamb from out of the fields.

They are not your usual rushed 18, 24-week stuff.

These are over ten months old. So they are quite strong.

Ooh, hope the diners like it strong.

He tosses the pieces of lamb in seasoned flour, before browning it in a frying pan.

Do them in batches...

of, say, two or three servings a time.

Unlike Sophie, Paul is leaving nothing to chance and preparing ten servings of lamb.

I play safe completely. If ten people order the same dish,

then we will have it.

Paul then prepared the vegetables to go with the lamb.

The meat and veg will cook in a mixture of stock and a whole bottle of red wine.

What is it about these Devon cooks and their booze?

Once it was sealed, he popped the meat into the pot,

gave it a quick stir,

before it went into the oven to slow cook for four hours.

Paul's second main course is chicken,

which he is cooking en papillote

in individual foil parcels, which should keep the meat nice and juicy.

Like Sophie, he's flavouring the chicken with thyme and lemon,

but again he is playing it safe and preparing ten portions.

This is going in this little parcel here

and we will do all ten like that.

All this prep should make it a doddle to get the main courses out on time. Shouldn't it?

What vegetables have we got to go out?

We need some potatoes on, Tim. Where have my potatoes disappeared to?

Oh dear, look, he's struggling again.

It's absolute hell right now, because we're not going to be quite ready,

we are going to be just a few minutes late.

How long? For the chicken and lamb?

Come on, guys, hang on in there.

There's sauce to be finished, veg to cook, mash to mash.

And the diners are getting a bit restless.

The wait's been a little bit longer than I expected it to be.

So far about...25 minutes.

Ooh, dear, in the kitchen, Paul's tearing his hair out.

We're ready to go, let's plate up.

Finally!

You're going to have to go, Jane. We can't have them waiting longer.

-Just be patient.

-At one point I thought that was going to be a complete disaster,

but I think we managed to rectify it.

-Ah, well done everyone.

-Thank you, Jane.

So what do the diners think of the lamb?

That's got a nice flavour to it, actually. That's very rich.

And you know lamb can be a bit fatty sometimes?

That's why I didn't order it, but it does look really nice.

It is very textured meat...

The main course, I chose the lamb.

Again lovely flavour, great meal.

A bit like a stew, which I didn't expect it to be,

but still it was delicious and I really enjoyed it.

For my main course I thought I would go for braised lamb.

It was cooked really, really well.

It was succulent,

it was tender,

but the flavour wasn't there and it was found wanting.

Oh, dear. I wonder if the chicken fared any better.

We had to wait a little while for the meal tonight.

But the presentation and the taste, it is worth it.

It is very nice. All very nice and fresh.

Sadly, there appears to be more than just lemon and thyme in Paul's chicken dish.

My main course was very nice until I found a hair

which has put me off and I'm not eating any more.

So, maybe it wasn't worth the wait.

Oh, no, not another hair. Can someone not find him a hat?

And apart from the odd gripe about the rustic presentation,

Sophie seems to have got the thumbs up from her diners, and what a tour-de-force Pete is!

He's charming the socks off everyone. Let's hope her puds can do the same.

For desserts, Sophie is offering a choice of baked oranges flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla

and star anise served with home-made orange ice cream.

Or, if there are any chocoholics in the house, there's a luxurious individual

hot pudding made with rich dark chocolate and served with a dollop of Devon double cream on the side.

Oh, it sounds like heaven!

I've made the orange ice cream before

which I think is delicious and I've put together something

simple with fresh oranges and loads of lovely spices.

For the chocolate pudding, I think you just need chocolate on a menu.

A lot to do and sounds heavy after the main meal.

Heavy?! Better than hairy! And you're talking to a girl

who LOVES her chocolate.

But the chocolate puds weren't the first desserts Sophie tackled today.

Her spicy baked oranges needed preparing in advance to let the fruit soak up the flavours.

-And, the inevitable booze.

-Slosh that on top.

She also whipped up some tangy orange ice cream.

Right... So I whisk the juice, sugar and zest.

And then I'm going to pour in the double cream. Like that.

It looks like Sophie is cruising towards the finish line.

Guys, everything OK?

THEY MUTTER APPROVINGLY Good. Thank you very much.

Pete's been doing a sterling job of looking after the guests

and making sure Sophie's portion control goes to plan.

But the diners are faced with the difficult choice between

the two desserts and they've come up with a cheeky request.

Um, what they've said is they want the chocolate pudding and the orange,

-can they all have a bit of each?

-Really? Both?

-Everybody.

-OK. We'll see what we can do.

Chef, is that what's going to happen?

-Not, "see what we can do"?

-Yeah, they can have it. I've said already.

OK. No, there was two undecided, but they decided to go with it.

Wait, before we do that, I've got to check how many ramekins I've got.

Chef, if they're only having half of one...

I told you I can't cut them in half.

Can't you ladle it on with a ladle, Chef?

-Chef, you swore under your breath!

-Yes!

-I can't believe that.

-That's the first time ever I've heard you swear.

-Come on...

Count those, how many have I got?

-Chef, you've got 10.

-Right.

I'm on edge. Darling, go away. Leave me. Leave me to get on with this.

I'm losing my sense of humour very fast.

I'm exhausted, I've been doing this all day.

Oh, Pete should have seen this coming and given Chef a wide berth.

Really I should have stuck to my guns and said, "You can have either chocolate pudding or orange,"

but we like the sound of the people

so we have accommodated their wishes.

It's been a bit complicated.

But tired Sophie manages to eke out the chocolate pudding mixture to keep her diners in good humour,

Even if Chef's temporarily misplaced hers.

Right, 25 minutes.

-Can I take these in?

-Yep, you can take them in.

9:30 and the desserts are good to go.

Chocolate pud and cinnamon-baked oranges with home-made orange ice cream.

Gentleman...

What more could a diner want?

It's so delicious.

They were both heavenly and I think this is the highlight of my evening.

I don't normally sit in a restaurant going, "Mm," so much.

Absolutely delicious. I wouldn't have gone naturally towards the fruit option,

I'd have steered towards chocolate, but fantastic.

So glad we were treated to both.

The desserts were delicious. If it's really important

to balance something naughty with something really good for you.

The ice cream, a bit naughty, the orange good for you.

Chocolate, naughty, the cream... Sort of good for you, I think. No.

Ah, the raspberries, there had to be something there. It was lovely.

Really naughty, but nice.

-So, they've all eaten two puddings each.

-They have.

-Greedy sods!

-Steady on, Sophie. They're paying guests.

But I'm glad they're empty. Good.

Looks like it 10 out of 10 for Sophie's desserts.

So, what can Paul pull out of the hat to match that?

He's hoping to delight his diners with two classic puddings.

Will they opt for the first choice - pears poached in vintage port served with vanilla creme fraiche...

..or will his guests be tempted by his second pud, a comforting dish

of good old-fashioned bread-and-butter pudding given a twist with tangy plums.

Every time I do the pears, everybody loves them.

And the bread and butter pudding is done with a twist with plums

and I'm confident about these two.

Plum bread-and-butter pudding, lovely!

Really lovely! They both sound delicious.

Oh, they do sound good, don't they?

For the plum bread and butter pudding, Paul's using local plums.

Just before his diners arrived, he roasted them in the oven for a really intense flavour.

This is not good.

Hm, perhaps the flavour might be a little TOO intense.

Paul then layered the fruit with buttered white bread.

It's gone a little bit wrong, but it was a trial and error thing.

Looks more like error than trial, to me.

Hey-ho.

It works out slightly different each time.

It's not going to affect the taste, it'll be even more scrumptious.

Well, we'll soon know.

Next, he poured over eggy custard.

The recipe says don't overfill it.

And what did you go and do?

Whoops.

It's just egg and milk, nothing to worry about.

After 35 minutes in the oven, it should have emerged a beautiful golden brown.

Let's have a look. Oh, sugar!

That's fine.

Not so much golden brown as burnt and black.

I hope the guests like their puddings well done.

His second desert, pears poached in wine and vintage port,

need a dollop of vanilla creme fraiche and hopefully no more hairs.

They certainly look the part, unlike the bread and butter pudding.

Oh, just cut around the burnt bits, Paul, no-one'll notice!

Off you go, go.

I normally don't like bread-and-butter pudding too much

but this was, I must say, very, very good.

-One of the best I've ever had.

-See? Told you they wouldn't notice.

I had the poached pear and I'd say it was poached to perfection. Very nice.

I had the bread-and-butter pudding for dessert and I thought it was absolutely delicious.

They saved the best till last. Very tasty. I loved it.

I had the bread-and-butter pudding and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very tasty with the plum sauce as well.

I did end up with the second hair of the evening, but that's not a major problem to me.

That's a hair in every course, not so much a mistake, more a key ingredient.

Thankfully, this diner doesn't seem to mind.

Meanwhile at Sophie's, Pete rounds off the evening with a Chef's special.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending this evening.

Can I introduce you, please, to our lovely chef, Miss Sophie Partridge.

Thank you so much, everybody.

Well, Paul and Sophie have done everything they can to woo their diners and their wallets.

Now, it's up to the guests to decide how much or how little they want to pay for their evening.

And neither cook has any idea of how much that might be.

Sophie spent £85 on her menu

so, to nudge into profit she needs nearly £9 a head.

It certainly looks like her diners enjoyed their evening.

So delicious, fantastic company and I'd be happy to come back.

I thought it was a terrific evening and I want to come back next week.

Wonderful evening, loved all the food, great atmosphere.

-I'd do it again.

-It's been really hard work, I have to say, incredibly hard work for all three of us.

We've all worked really, really hard.

But I think it's gone well -

judging by the plates, but we'll see.

I'm very happy to have been part of this with Sky and Sophie.

Sophie has been the helmsmen sailing the ship.

It's been a successful voyage.

I'm very, very happy.

The people are happy, the food has gone down very well and so it should.

She's an excellent cook. Sky, what say you?

Well, I'm completely knackered now.

-I think I've had enough!

-Fair enough!

Paul spent almost twice as much, £163 so for him just to break even

the guests must leave over £16 each, but has he done enough?

I really enjoyed myself tonight, the meal has been fantastic

and all the best to the chef in his future career.

I had a hair in my food and I didn't go much on the starter, but the dessert was delicious.

A good cheap night out, that was. Excellent.

As long as they enjoyed it, I don't mind if we didn't make profit. It's not about the money.

If all ten put £20 in the pot and it comes to 200, I'd be pleased.

Paul, Sophie, I'm going to take the guess that you're probably going to use the word "exhausting".

-Was it an exhausting experience, Paul?

-Exceedingly so.

-How bad?

-Really bad.

-On a scale of 1 to 10, about 11.

-Really?! Tell me why.

The pressure slowly crept up throughout the evening,

we were two-thirds of the way through and the rest becomes a blur.

You could do with another set of hands all the time.

It was quite an ambitious menu.

I didn't look at it like that. I looked at it as something that was achievable. It looked OK to me.

-What would your hindsight moment be?

-Preparation. A bit more preparation.

So, come on, would you do this again?

-Yes, I'd do it again.

-Really?! Even though it was such agony?

Well, experience under the belt. Sure.

Sophie, you had a great evening.

-I did, we did have fun, yeah.

-What was the best bit for you?

I have to say it was really exhausting. Like Paul, I found it incredibly exhausting mentally,

physically, in every way, but we did have a good evening.

The best thing was the sense of people enjoying themselves in the dining room.

The sounds coming through were good, people were laughing.

Plates were coming back empty so that was...

It must have been so exciting.

Yeah, that's what I wanted - people to enjoy themselves, not just the food, but the whole experience.

Now, you had a real star turn in Pete.

-He was good.

-I think Pete really charmed the whole restaurant.

-Yes, I can believe it.

-So, if you ever open a restaurant, your food, his charm you'll be all right.

-Good.

So, I'm sure you're both dying to know if you made any money.

-Yes.

-It would help.

Paul, you spent £163, a fair amount.

And your diners donated 155 which means you're minus eight.

-That's not bad.

-But look at that fabulous smile.

And Sophie, you spend £85

-and your diners donated 280.

-Oh, brilliant!

Meaning you made a profit of 195.

There you go. That's for you.

-Good.

-How do you feel?

I'm pleased.

-Very good.

-Listen, guys, thank you so much for taking part.

It was a joy to watch you both working so hard to feed all those lovely people.

Thank you very much. And thank you for watching Instant Restaurant.

I'll see you next time.

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