Episode 10 The Chef's Protege

Getting to the top of any profession takes not only skill and determination

but a few breaks along the way.

Show me what a good cook you are.

Tom Kitchin, Theo Randall and Michel Roux Jr have all

been helped in their careers by someone who believed in them.

I think it would be very difficult for any chef to achieve

greatness without a mentor.

Put it through one more time.

Now they want to give someone else that same chance...

Ow, ow, ow, ow!

..by going back to catering college to find a young student

they can each take under their wing as their own protege.

It's such a gruelling industry.

If you want to get to the top, you need to work with the best.

Look at you, you're excited, eh?

-Yeah.

-You're excited!

-Definitely excited.

Hallelujah.

Tom, Theo and Michel are searching for someone who

they think is a worthy apprentice.

Happy, Chef Shona?

I think so.

They each have a week to select and train up their strongest candidates...

Two things on the go at the same time. Come on, come on, come on.

Or even three things on the go. Multitask, come on.

..before they compete against each other

to see who has the best protege.

This week, it's Theo Randall's search

which started at his old catering college.

It's still standing, it's all good.

From seven, he is now down to three students.

In the last test, Theo's faith in 18-year-old David paid off

when the young chef produced the dish of the day.

He forged a connection with Ellis over their shared love

of Italian flavours.

That works really well.

Thank you.

And his hard work with Hayley was rewarded

when she finally began to show her potential.

-Ah.

-Oh!

Good job!

Today, Theo must choose which two will continue in the competition.

It's early morning in Central London

and Theo has decided to put three students from Brooklands College

to the test in his own restaurant.

It's slightly nerve-wracking today

because it's very much, sort of, personal.

It's about what I have created but handing it to someone else

and I'm a little bit anxious about it.

I think we're just at the point where we're really starting to see

what these people can do.

I don't think you can get much more of a better opportunity than this,

to cook in Theo Randall's restaurant.

This is where we really get to know about him.

There are only three of us so...and they're both great chefs.

It's going to be hard

but I'm sure we'll all step up today.

The opportunity is amazing.

The fact that he's put faith in me and put me through,

I do believe in myself a lot more

and I've really got a push on this challenge.

Good morning.

-Good morning.

-Morning.

This is where you guys have got to show me

how good a cook you really are.

You're going to be cooking in my restaurant, my recipes.

You can ask me questions but my hands are not going to get dirty today. OK?

Yes, chef.

Theo has seen David, Ellis and Hayley grow over the week

but one must go today.

Even though they're still students,

he's looking for potential and raw talent.

David will be cooking

Theo's squid, zucchini and tomato tagliatelle starter.

OK, so, we've got the squid prepped, cleaned, scored, chopped up.

So, hot pan, oil in.

In goes the squid.

We're not frying it, we're just kind of melting it.

Add the tomatoes.

A little bit of parsley and garlic for flavour.

Just smell that.

Squid, tomato, garlic, pasta -

it's just a beautiful combination.

It does look a really nice dish.

David started off really not great.

I mean, you know, he was pretty lucky to stay into the second round

but actually he's really improved.

And what's nice to see, is the fact that he's been learning from his mistakes.

And he's matured as he has gone along.

Tagliatelle, zucchini, that's been in for about two minutes.

Take the pan over here.

A bit of pasta water -

put that in.

And then start tossing that pasta.

Keep moving it, yeah.

You're going to see on the side of the pan, it's starting to thicken, isn't it?

That's the starch coming out of the pasta.

The starch is thickening that lovely juice in there.

So it's like the stirring of a risotto?

It's exactly the same thing.

Good lad, that's exactly what it is.

I've been learning off Theo so much, recently.

It's just...I feel so much more confident as a chef,

especially after the comments from yesterday.

Grate the bottarga on top

and that'll add a lovely, nutty kind of taste.

And with those tomatoes and the calamari

it should be absolutely delicious.

Do you think you can do that?

I think I can, yeah.

I believe I've got the talent and it's just

I sometimes make silly little mistakes and I've got to try and cut that out.

Theo has put Hayley in charge of his signature fish stew,

made with five different types of seafood.

This is all our preparation,

we have the clams cleaned, we've got the red mullet,

we've got the monkfish, we've got the John Dory, we've got the cooked lobster. OK?

-OK.

-We're going to season all those bits of fish.

Black pepper.

Put the clams in first.

In they go.

Then, put our lobster in.

Just get a little bit of colour on that shell.

Put our seasoned fish in.

Potatoes - peeled, boiled in saffron. Why are we boiling them in saffron?

To get the flavour through and so it's not in every mouthful

and it's not going into the fish as well.

You've got it. You're listening.

Yesterday, at last I saw a bit of the true Hayley.

And I just thought that was really encouraging.

Today, Hayley really has to go up to the next step, you know?

I mean, I almost just want to leave her completely alone.

I'll give her some tips and I'll tell her what to do

but I really want her to just get on with it.

Throughout the previous challenges, I would have maybe said

I was a bit under the others and they are quite strong competition

but through yesterday, I mean, it's put a lot more confidence in myself

and, yeah, today I think I need to show Theo that I can work independently

and I can use my initiative and get it done.

Try and get the clams and things in the bottom first.

You want to put the delicate fish on top.

It's just nicely cooked.

Spoon the juice over.

That's the fish stew.

-Make sense?

-Yeah, I understand.

OK, deep breath.

Yeah, a lot to do, a lot to get through.

Go on, you can do it.

It's quite a lot of fish and it's quite a lot of filleting work and...

..yeah, a bit nervous but I'm hoping once I get into it,

it's going to go all right.

Ellis has the main course.

Theo's rack of lamb, served with roasted vegetables,

all cooked in his wood-fired oven.

So, I've sealed the lamb off and I've roasted it in the wood oven.

Yup.

OK, so it should be nice and juicy.

-Give that a squeeze.

-Yeah.

Yeah, nice and juicy.

-OK, and then we've got our vegetables.

-Yeah.

So, we'll put that over here.

Let's cut the beetroots in half so you can see them.

Ellis, she's really into it. I mean, she does really love food.

I think she genuinely is a cook.

Her weaknesses are -

she's a little bit disorganised.

She sort of flaps around and she loses concentration.

I think she's just a little bit, um, ditzy.

That's lovely.

That lamb is pink and it's juicy. I've let it rest.

If you cook a piece of meat it will shrink,

-it's going to become very tight.

-Yeah.

-OK?

When you let it relax, all that

juice inside the meat is going to fill up all those little muscles.

-Yeah.

-Make sense?

Yeah, it does.

I've learnt a lot being with Theo. A lot.

Just him showing us how to prep, how to cook.

It's just getting what Theo likes right, today.

And then, this is the salsa verde with some bread in it.

And you put bread in it to thicken it?

You put bread in it to thicken it so it stays nice

and sort of chunky on the plate.

OK.

And that is a lovely plate of lamb.

Yeah.

I want you to make it even better than that.

OK.

I am feeling pretty confident. It should be quite straightforward throughout the whole thing.

I think it's just getting the vegetables cooked properly.

That's the only thing I've got to worry about, really.

Meat is easy, so...

Having shown them his dishes,

Theo is stepping back as the students prepare lunch

for three diners that know his food better than anyone.

'His sous chef, Theodore,

'who has been with him since the restaurant opened six years ago.

'His restaurant manager, Thassanee,

'and Sophie, one of Theo's first commis chefs

'who's since gone on to work at The River Cafe.'

I think the thing that makes Theo a good teacher is

he is so patient and understanding

but his knowledge is amazing.

Be careful, it's pretty well protected - John Dory.

Any fish coming to get this fish would be stabbed with all those...

I think his restaurant is his life.

Everything that he does is with passion and it's with love

so I think it just...it means everything.

The students now have three hours before they serve.

I just need to steer them in the right direction

and just see what they are actually capable of.

With his pasta dough made and set aside to rest,

David has moved on to prepping the squid.

Any questions? You all right?

No, I'm pretty good, thanks. The pasta's in the fridge chilling.

-The pasta's in the fridge, OK.

-Yeah.

How does it feel? Nice?

-Yeah, it feels soft and it feels pretty good.

-Good, OK.

I'm not worried about you.

That's another good compliment.

They are rolling in, the past few days.

-Not bad!

-Pretty good!

Ellis has six different types of vegetable to prepare

for her main course.

I've got hours, I don't want to rush. I'll be done soon,

like, as in I'll be done way before three.

How's your blanching going?

At the moment... I just got back so I've got the carrots

and the Jerusalem artichoke done.

Yeah, you've got tons to do.

I mean, you seem very relaxed. You've got a lot to do.

You've got to roast all these vegetables off and almost separately.

-Am I going to do them to order? I didn't want...

-To order?

-I've got three hours.

Are you kidding? It's an hour to roast these, you're not going to do it to order.

Really? An hour?

Well, to cook them really nicely.

-It's a lovely...it's caramelised vegetables, yeah.

-OK.

It's a long time. Your wood oven's not even alight.

How are you going to cook? You've got no wood oven.

OK. I'll do that now, then.

Where can I get a match from?

I think these guys have been listening to me but I think they're a bit too relaxed.

"Oh, yeah, I've got plenty of time, you know.

"Two hours to do this, two hours to do that."

They haven't got a clue.

-Shall I put the wood in there?

-Well, if you don't put the wood in, it's not going to catch fire, is it?

Oh, yeah, OK.

Hayley's fish stew needs to be cooked just before serving

so she must prep all the seafood in advance.

I haven't had a lot of experience in fish prep

so I'm a bit on edge of doing it but I've done a few before

so I'm hoping it'll all come together.

-So, what are you thinking?

-Um...

-You've never done a John Dory before, have you?

-No.

-OK, I'm going to give you a little bit of a hand here because it's quite...

-Can you tell?!

You want to cut along down there

and down there and around there.

You want to use the knife to start taking the fillet off.

Make sense?

OK. Thanks, chef.

This food is not complicated...

..but they have to get it right.

The pasta has to be al dente.

The lamb has to be cooked pink

and the fish stew has to have

lots of flavour and not be overcooked and dry.

Have you proved the pasta?

-Yeah.

-How many times?

Eh...three times.

-OK, it's not enough.

-No?

Pasta should be really tough

and that's just breaking in my hand.

-OK.

-It should be like an elastic band.

OK, start running.

OK, bring it out here.

Fold it over.

Put it through again.

A bit more urgency. Speed, speed, speed, speed.

So, Ellis, how's your wood oven?

I haven't actually checked it, chef.

SHE GROANS

Not good, is it?

-OK, all right. Carry on. I'll sort it out.

-Thank you.

Oh, man.

I went to Guides and everything and I still can't make a fire.

Yeah, that, I should have checked on that.

Come on.

The first rule of pasta

is to make sure it doesn't stick together...

-I could put some semolina in it.

-..and that's going to be a disaster. Look at that,

it's going to be stuck together.

My confidence has taken a knock because I wanted to impress Theo.

Can you see through?

In parts.

It's pretty damn good.

It's got a very thick bone on that fish and you can see through it.

If one of my chefs had done that I would be actually pretty pleased.

Oh, thank you.

OK, guys, 15 minutes to service.

Yes, chef.

Sitting down for a change, eh?

I mean, looking at all of the ingredients,

they're all so simple and then you have to put them together.

If you miss one or two things...

Under pressure as well, I think it's really hard work, isn't it?

Now the guests are seated, it's time for Theo to see if the students

really are protege material.

David is first.

If the pasta's not the best I've ever cooked then I'm out

and I won't get the opportunity to cook with Theo again

and I'm just going to try my hardest to make it look as good as it can,

taste as good as it can and smell as good as it can.

Toss that pasta!

Yeah.

I can see your pasta breaking up.

Elegant. Make it look elegant.

Oh, thank you.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

I think it looks good.

It looks like maybe it could be a little but juicier.

Seasoning's nice.

The flavours are there, the smell, it looks good, it tastes good.

There's something strange though,

the pasta seems to be in kind of short,

sort of, broken up pieces and I'm not sure how that's happened.

You can see that some of it has not cooked evenly because of that.

The pasta has been cut at different lengths - short and long.

But yeah, it's really tasty.

I'm enjoying it.

There was mistakes in there, without a doubt.

But overall, it was OK.

But I'm really not sure whether OK is good enough to get myself through.

I hope it is.

OK, Hayley, how are you doing?

Great. I'm all set up, ready, chef.

Have you got everything you need?

Yes, chef.

OK, go for it. Go for it.

To get Theo's dish right, Hayley must make sure that

all the different fish in the stew are cooked equally.

Use your instincts.

She seems to be under control, seems quite relaxed.

She's managing four pans at a time.

Keep that red mullet hot, please.

Service.

There you go.

Thank you.

-It smells lovely.

-Yeah, it smells delicious.

And, you know, the look is... all the fish is intact

so it hasn't fallen to bits.

The broth has really nice flavour.

It's very well prepared.

All of the fish has been filleted well.

There's no bones anywhere, they're nicely cut.

Most of my fish is quite nicely cooked.

The mullet is good,

potatoes nicely cooked,

my lobster was a little bit tough, I think,

but it's very difficult to do and I think for a first time attempt of this dish

I think it's really good. I'm really impressed.

Yeah, I'm really buzzing, I'm really happy.

My confidence has really grown and, yeah, I do feel

a lot more capable and independent and I think, definitely, today I've proved that.

Last to serve is Ellis.

Theo needs to see if her love of food is backed up

by the ability to focus.

Ellis, she's cooking her lamb but I'm not sure,

I saw her sort of fumbling around with the vegetables

she had been cooking and her artichokes looked a little bit overdone

but she's going to plate up and we're going to find out.

Bad!

That's not so good, that one.

-Ellis, are you ready to serve?

-Yes, I am.

OK, so, you're ready to go.

-Oh, dear.

-Yup.

-What happened to those?

Too thin, far too thin - crisped up completely.

Actually quite torturous when I look at these.

-Service, please.

-That's it.

That's definitely overcooked.

-That's the first thing I notice.

-Yes.

-Vegetables are...

-SHE CRUNCHES

Well, you hear that?

Yeah, it's dried, completely dry.

It's no longer roast veg, it's become crisps

or something like that, hasn't it?

It's well seared.

You can taste the smokiness from the wood-fire oven

which is really nice.

But I think mine is very much overcooked which is a shame, really.

Mine's cooked less.

If I was sitting in a restaurant and eating

and the lamb came out cooked like that, I wouldn't send it back.

Well, I felt confident at the beginning

and now, I wish I didn't feel confident because it's kind

of led me to a bit of a downfall where I haven't done so well.

I feel like I let Theo down and myself down.

In the end, Theo is looking for just one apprentice.

Now, he must lose another student from the running.

It's not easy to cook that food and they were cooking it from scratch.

You know, it's quite easy to cook some pasta but actually they were making it from scratch.

They were making a fish stew from scratch.

I think they've done pretty well today

but there's a clear winner -

Hayley. She's just improved as the week's gone on.

So, we're really building here.

She's really taking this challenge and grasping it.

Ellis...

she didn't cook well today.

I mean, you know, she was so overconfident this morning.

I like confidence but overconfidence - it's a disaster.

I was a little bit disappointed with David's pasta.

It was very slapdash.

He's been shining for a couple of days now

and then seeing that made me think, "Maybe he hasn't got that level of knowledge that I thought he had."

Theo has chosen to deliver his decision to each student one on one.

-Hi, chef.

-Hello.

How do you think your day went, today?

Yeah, I was really happy with today,

proud of myself, of how it turned out and...yeah, good.

You were slow today.

One of the fish, two of the fish, were possibly a bit overcooked.

OK.

But on the whole, you did brilliantly. You did so well.

I'm so proud of you, OK?

So, you're through to the next round.

Thank you.

-So, don't let me down on the next stage, OK?

-I won't.

-See you in a few days.

-See you, chef.

I am really surprised, I mean, I was quite confident after today.

I had a really good day and I just didn't think, ever think,

that getting through was possible.

Theo now has to make a choice between David and Ellis.

The less students I have, the harder it becomes.

Because, you know, over a period of time you become fond

of these people because they're, you know, you're teaching them

and you're finding out more about them and their personality.

Ellis, do you want to come through?

The way you were working this morning, you were incredibly relaxed.

-I know, I was.

-You were just like, "Oh, I've got three hours."

-It's amazing how three hours can come and bite you.

-Yeah.

You need to concentrate, you need to think about what you're cooking. You know?

Think about your timing, think about how you're going to deliver.

You're naturally a cook

and I think you've got a great future ahead of you,

unfortunately, you have to go.

-Yeah.

-I'm really sorry.

-Thank you for the opportunity, it was amazing.

Give us a hug!

Thank you for the opportunity.

-Absolute pleasure. Absolute pleasure.

-Bye.

I would have loved to go further, definitely, definitely.

This week's been amazing,

the experience of a lifetime

and I'm going to take a lot out of it.

So, I'm not leaving with nothing.

When you came in the kitchen this morning, you were very,

seemed very confident.

And there's one thing I can't stand

-and that's overconfident people that can't deliver.

-Yeah.

-And you, my friend, were sloppy today.

-I was, yeah.

I'm going to keep you, though.

I'm going to keep you as long as you promise to me that the next time

I see you, you are as smart as anything.

You're clean, you concentrate

and you run around this kitchen like you're on skates.

-OK, I will.

-Yeah?

-I promise.

-OK.

-Thank you very much.

I really didn't know where I would end up in the competition

and it's just phenomenal that I got through to the final two.

I'm actually really enjoying this.

Because they've come a long way in one week.

I mean, an incredibly long way in one week.

And it's just so nice to see a young person build their confidence

and actually start to produce something.

David and Hayley will be back in the final week...

..when Theo will choose his protege.

I want to see how much you've learned from me. OK?

Let's get on with it.

Next time, Michel Roux Jr returns to catering college to begin his search.

I just need to think about how I'm going to do it because

normally I use a microwave.

HE GASPS

Oh, doing the fancy one-handed...

Well, I love scrambled egg and I wouldn't want to eat that.

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