Episode 11 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 Junior 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...

Come on, out, out, out, out, out, out!

..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, huh? You're excited! Hallelujah!

Tom, Theo and Michel are searching for someone,

who they think is a worthy apprentice.

-Happy, Chef Shonagh?

-Think so!

They each have a week to select

and train up their strongest candidates...

Mm!

-So, how many have you done?

-One so far.

-You've done ONE?

-Yeah, but I... Sorry, Chef.

..before they compete against each other

to see who has the best protege.

This week, it's the search of Michel Roux Junior.

For 20 years, he has held two Michelin stars after

honing his skills with a string of different chefs.

I think it's extremely important for a young chef to find a mentor,

somebody that they can look up to and somebody that inspires.

I've had a few over the years but none more

so than my father who instilled in me

my respect for all the ingredients and the love of the French classics.

Michel is on his way to University College Birmingham, one of

the country's leading catering colleges with a strong

connection to the Roux family.

They have shortlisted seven students,

who they believe have the potential to be his protege.

I think the students have an absolutely fantastic

opportunity to work with Michel.

They're going to make the most of this.

This is life-changing for them

and they'll give 100% to make sure that they do their very best.

Look at this. Even I'm here.

Dad.

-All right, Neil?

-Hello, Michel. Nice to meet you.

-Wow!

What a lovely kitchen! That is amazing!

So, seven very excited students, eager to work with you,

looking forward to the challenge. They can't wait.

-They're so eager to get started.

-That's great. Cheers. Thanks, Neil.

See you. Bye.

Today, Michel will meet the first four students.

But he can only take three forward in the competition.

I want to see what level they are, so it will be stand back

and watch them cook.

To begin with, Michel wants them

to cook a surprisingly simple dish.

Scrambled eggs.

My father always used to interview young chefs.

And part of that interview process was "cook me an egg".

You can learn so much from just that one simple task.

First up is 21-year-old Jodie.

-Hiya.

-Hello there.

-Hello. Nice to meet you.

-What's your name?

-I'm Jodie, Jodie Jones.

-Jodie?

-Jodie Jones.

-Come on, then. Come with me.

-Thank you.

-How long have you been here?

-It's my third year.

-What's your favourite food?

-The God's honest truth

-is scrambled egg with Tabasco.

-Good!

-Well, I love scrambled eggs.

-Yeah.

-And that's what I want you to cook.

-Oh, really? Oh, OK. Cool.

-That's put you at ease, hasn't it?

-Yeah, a little bit.

-Four eggs, scrambled.

And what I want are the scrambled eggs that YOU would want to eat.

'I'm definitely easy to teach.

'I feel like I'm just one of these people that just...

'I look gormless cos I'm just, like, "I want to take everything in!"'

Do you know what I mean? I just want to learn everything.

Um...

Have you lost the recipe?

No, I just need to think about how I'm going to do it

cos normally, I use a microwave.

HE GASPS

-Yeah!

-And you owned up to that?

-Yeah! Like, come on. I'm a student!

-Well, there's no microwave here.

-Yeah.

-Not that I know of, anyway.

No. No, probably not.

So have you ever cooked scrambled eggs the conventional way?

-I'm going to be honest and say once.

-Ooh!

'For me, the perfect scrambled egg has to be creamy, rich, unctuous,

'cooked properly, not leathery and perfectly seasoned.'

-It's a bit quicker in a microwave, isn't it?

-Yeah. Definitely!

It takes a minute and a half and then you have to stir it with

a fork, and then a minute and a half and it's done.

That's what my mum used to do.

THEY LAUGH

-That it, Jodie?

-There you go.

-Happy with that?

-No, not really.

What are you not happy about?

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

-What is your perfect scrambled egg?

-Oh, like, fluffy deliciousness.

-And what's that?

-Grainy, lumpy. Yeah.

-It's grainy, it's incredibly dry.

-There's the merest hint of seasoning.

-Yeah.

-Hmm.

Not sure about you, but I know one thing for sure - I wouldn't eat that.

-No, I wouldn't either.

-Off you go.

I don't know about Jodie. She cooks her scrambled eggs in a microwave.

And to be honest, it shows.

They're dreadful! They really, really are bad.

My eggs could have been, like, a million times better,

but I would definitely like Michel to be my mentor.

I feel like we'd get on really well,

and I feel like the transition of, like, genius would go well.

These kids are students but it's

basic culinary skills that I'm looking for.

I shouldn't have to tell them or show them how to scramble an egg.

Next up is 22-year-old Matt.

-Hello, young man.

-Hello.

-What's your name? Matthew?

-Matt, yeah.

-Right.

Come in, Matthew. Come on.

I'm sure, once you're in the kitchen, you'll be a lot less nervous.

-I hope so.

-Come in. Scrambled eggs.

-Scrambled eggs.

-Off we go.

'From school, I left to be a carpenter.'

But it wasn't for me so I took a step back

'and I found cooking was more my thing.'

-So you're not an egg fan?

-Not a massive egg fan, no.

I don't know why. I just wasn't brought up on eggs.

'French cuisine is more...'

high-end for my family.

'So growing up, we didn't eat very high-end food.'

But since I've been here,

'the standard of the food is really high.

'The food I've put out...'

is what I'd like to go into.

-You got the shakes?

-Yeah!

-It's only scrambled egg!

-It's for you, Chef!

-That's it?

-That's it. Yeah.

-Right, let's taste.

-It's not cooked properly.

-No.

-It's well seasoned.

-Seasoned well.

I can teach you how to cook a proper scrambled egg.

-But I don't think I can teach you taste.

-No.

-Not bad.

Well done, Matthew. Off you go.

He didn't cook the scrambled eggs particularly well.

They were overcooked, grainy. But actually, he's got taste.

And he was nervous. That showed that he really cared.

Feels amazing. I just wish I'd done it a bit better, if I'm honest.

You know, cos he's one of the greats and I just wanted to impress him.

Next to meet Michel is Sophie.

Come in.

-So, Sophie, how old are you?

-I'm 18.

-18?

-Yeah.

Tell me a little bit about yourself, Sophie. Always wanted to be a chef?

-Yeah. Since I was, like, two!

-Have you got a signature dish?

-I'm best at pastry. I love pastry.

-You love pastry?

I love pastry cos I'm quite artistic.

-I like prettying things up. I know it sounds weird!

-No.

No, no, no, no. I can understand that.

-I want you to cook scrambled eggs.

-Scrambled egg? OK!

-Off you go.

Kitchen's yours.

Ooh! Doing the fancy one-handed!

'Started catering college cos of my nan.'

She taught me when I was from, like, two years old.

And ever since then, I've always loved to be in the kitchen

and do stuff.

-Are they false nails or real ones?

-They're acrylic.

They won't come off. They, like, physically don't come off.

Yeah, but, surely, long nails are not allowed?

Would you like me to chop them off for you?

Well, yes, I would because, for me, that's not right.

-Before I say anything, what do you think?

-Could have done better.

What would you change?

They look a bit stodgy to me, like, they're not fluffy.

And for somebody who says that you are a pastry chef

-and that you love artistic and...

-Yeah, it doesn't look artistic.

..visually looking-good stuff, that does not look good, does it?

-No, it doesn't.

-Go on. Off you go.

-Thank you.

It's good feedback because even if it's not what you want to hear,

it's still good because he knows what he's talking about.

So you can't exactly argue cos you just learn from it.

Those nails!

If she wants to work for me, she's going to have to take them off.

Those falsies, those nails, are just not on in a kitchen.

Last up is 18-year-old Reece.

-Hi.

-Hello, young man.

-You all right?

-Yes, I'm fine. What's your name?

-Reece.

-Reece? All right, Reece. Come on. Follow me.

So, Reece. So what kind of food do you want to cook?

I want to go into fine dining.

-What's fine dining?

-Precision, flavours, something different.

-What's your favourite dish, then?

-Moules mariniere.

-Moules mariniere?

-Definitely.

-That's straight off?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Moules mariniere, and your eyes lit up and your face lit up.

-Yeah.

-Great!

-I love moules mariniere. You're right. Me too.

-Beautiful.

-Do you know what scrambled eggs are supposed to look like?

-Yeah.

Kitchen is yours. Equipment's here. Get cracking.

'My mum's a chef.'

She's been a chef for, she won't like me saying it, about 40 years!

'I learnt a lot from her.'

-What's the pan of water for?

-Bain-marie.

Bain-marie? OK. You're going to cook the eggs over a bain-marie?

Yeah.

'And my dad's given me the drive...'

cos he's got where he wanted to be from nowhere.

'And that's given me confidence that...'

if I wanted to get somewhere, I can get somewhere.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a chef?

It was about my second year of high school.

I took catering and I loved it.

A couple of my friends wanted to be footballers.

I'd rather work in a hot kitchen, cooking food all day.

Another ten, 15 minutes maybe.

-This is the slow way, isn't it, of cooking it?

-Yeah.

But it's your preferred way.

-Oh, I think it's the best way of having it.

-Yeah?

-Definitely.

Do you prefer this way or prefer it straight in a pan?

I just prefer good scrambled eggs, whatever way they're cooked,

-other than a microwave!

-Yeah.

-They have a place in the kitchen, I think, a microwave.

-Yeah?

In a corner!

REECE CHUCKLES

'My ambition is to make people happy and cook good food,'

whether it's in the best restaurant in the world

'or just a small cafe somewhere. It's making people happy.'

That's all I can do.

-How are we doing?

-We're there.

-We're there?

-We're there.

Good. So, what's happening with the butter?

What are you doing with the butter?

-Just waiting till it goes brown, like that.

-Brown. Lovely.

-Happy with that?

-Yeah. Very much so.

-Good.

-Happy?

-Going to taste it.

-You're a good boy! I like you, Reece. Can you tell?

-Yeah!

Using a bain-marie, you managed to control the heat properly.

That addition of a little bit of beurre noisette,

or nut-brown butter, on the top is delicious!

Absolutely delicious!

-I love it!

-Thank you.

-Well done, young man.

-Thank you.

-I'm happy.

Good. And me!

-Pack your knives and off you go through that blue door.

-Thank you.

So happy. So, so happy! Er... I've just cooked for Michel Roux!

And he enjoyed it! Oh, my life! Oh!

I like Reece. He's 18 years old... but he knows what he wants to do.

He's the kind of young man that I think would impress my father,

let alone me.

Having a mentor means more than just being taught basic cookery skills.

It is the opportunity to learn the secrets behind their food.

The French classics are at the heart of Michel's style.

In particular, perfecting the art of the sauce

and the elegance of presentation.

Michel can't take all the students through today.

So to help him decide who to keep, he wants them to cook a dish

that reflects his principles -

supreme of chicken with a morel sauce,

served with potato mash and buttered spring vegetables.

First job, butchery skills,

but easy butchery skills that I'm sure you have.

-I mentioned butchery and you started shaking your head.

-I'm OK at this.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-You sure?

-I worked at a butcher's.

You worked at a butcher's? So not a problem.

That is our supreme of chicken. Beautiful, meaty supreme.

-It's got a lovely shape. You got that?

-Yup.

-Morel mushrooms.

-Have you worked with morels before?

-I haven't.

-Never heard of them?

-No.

Have a little smell of that.

It's very nice.

So you need to squeeze them, squeeze them dry,

and that's going to be the cornerstone of our sauce.

On there to reduce.

Baste your chicken, gently cooking it, and at the same time,

I'm keeping an eye on my reduction. Look at the bottom of this pan.

-What do you see?

-Sediment.

The natural roasting sugars.

They're going to be your sauce. They're going to be the flavour.

Michel then adds shallots and the chopped morels to the pan,

then deglazes it with Madeira,

before adding back the morel reduction

and finishing it off with cream.

That's it. We're done.

That is a true French classic.

It's a true Roux dish.

That says everything you need to know about me as a chef.

Yep.

-You understand what I'm trying to get across?

-Yep.

-It's your turn.

The kitchen is yours!

Think about everything I told you earlier on.

Preparation, seasoning, technique. I want to see it all.

I'm quite confident I can replicate the dish.

Maybe not to that standard, but I'll give it my best shot.

I'd like to impress, make up for this morning.

This opportunity's never going to happen again, so...

hopefully I can take as much as I can in

and stick around for as long as I can.

Sophie, I like that mise en place.

-All those little trays look really neat and tidy.

-Yes.

Let's have a look at your hands.

Yes, I took them off for you.

Are you happy now?

Literally, I've snapped them all off for you.

I am very happy, because you look cleaner, tidier -

you look like a chef, and it shows commitment. Well done.

-You've not taken the string off yet?

-No, I haven't, no.

-No.

Er...

-How did I do it?

-Down the back.

-Why down the back?

-The breast.

Is that the breast?

-Have you not done butchery before?

-Yeah, I have, but two years ago,

-and I weren't the best.

-You need practice.

You're going to buy a whole chicken on your way home tonight.

I don't want to see a chicken after today.

If they have listened to Michel, the students will know

to continually baste their chicken to keep it moist,

whilst keeping a careful eye on the morel reduction.

Careful. Both of you, careful. Careful. Careful.

The water and the flavour of the mushrooms -

it was on a bit too high, boiled over.

I'm going to start making my sauce now, and if it tastes really nice,

then I'll be very happy with myself.

If it's not, then I'm going to feel like I've let myself down.

Yeah, hope he likes it. Here's hoping.

-Where's your morel jus?

-Morel jus is there.

It's dry.

There is nothing left in it.

No, I'm going to use a bit of the cooking liquor.

-Come on, Reece, please.

-Yeah.

Focus, Reece. You've got to take on board what I say.

-You've got to be able to learn, yeah?

-Chef.

I left my morel jus on the stove too long and it went dry,

so I've added a touch of water. I'm not overly confident.

I've done, I think, too many little mistakes, which may cost me.

It's looking good. Very good. No burnt butter.

You know, after this morning, just because

I can't make a scrambled egg, you know, perfectly,

it doesn't mean I can't cook, like, do you know what I mean?

In a busy kitchen during service,

you will get different sections shouting out different times, and

everything has to be coordinated and arrive on the pass at the same time.

-Yes?

-Chef.

-Yes.

-Good.

So ten minutes from now, four plates of chicken on the pass.

On the pass, here. On the pass, here. Well done.

Next one. Come on, quick.

Now, either Sophie's gone too quickly,

or she's the only one who can actually tell the time.

Eh?

Coming up now, Chef.

Yeah, so's Christmas.

Thank you, Jodie.

Boys, come on.

If this was a real life scenario in a very busy kitchen, 100 covers,

head chef or the chef who would be on the pass would be most upset.

Most upset.

Good. Thank you.

Two minutes...late.

I'm not confident at all. I am not happy in myself, really.

Hopefully earlier saved me. Hopefully.

It went all right. It could have looked better, but I think,

with my cooking, everything's all... Everything's, like, up to scratch,

like. It all tastes nice.

I did my timing very well, got my plate up first, so...good.

It's a bonus, I suppose.

Mm. Mm-mm.

-Mm. I'm pleased with it.

-You're pleased with it?

-Yep.

So you should be. Your seasoning is spot-on.

I think you have got a very good palate.

I'm pretty pleased with how that went, considering my egg disaster

this morning. I think I've pulled myself back up.

Right, Jodie.

Yours is a little less neat.

Yeah. I'm not pleased with the presentation.

-Not pleased with the presentation?

-Not at all.

-Let's taste.

Come on, get in there and let's have a little taste.

Go on.

-I like it.

-What's the predominant flavour?

-Madeira.

-I didn't let it reduce enough.

-It's... It's...pfff!

-Strong.

-Too strong.

-Yeah.

-It's intense.

-It's intense. It needs a certain balance.

The mashed potato is very, very creamy. Perfectly seasoned.

It is a good plate of food, but...

-Sauce is too strong.

-..your sauce is not right.

-OK.

-Not right.

OK.

'Even though it was OK, like, it could have been a lot better.

'I feel as though...'

that I should stay, because I feel like I've got

so much more to give, like. I feel like I haven't showed him, like,

what I can do. Do you know what I mean?

Reece, I like your plate of food, even though you were rushed,

you were two minutes late. It's smart.

So your chicken is a little bit dry.

Your sauce is well-seasoned but there's not quite enough of it.

You over-reduced your mushroom juice.

I've seen bits in you that I really like, but I've seen other bits,

especially on this plate of food, that...

ring alarm bells.

'I knew how I was going to go about it,'

and it didn't work as I wanted it to.

There weren't many compliments there.

There weren't enough good, for me.

Matthew, this is your plate. The sauce, here -

it looks a little bit messy.

Let's taste.

HE CHUCKLES

I like it.

Mm. The chicken is well seasoned and ever-so-slightly over.

It could be a little bit moister.

Your vegetables are severely over, though. I mean, look at that.

-You could do a puree out of that carrot. It's just mush.

-Yeah.

See, the thing about this place is you've got lovely,

creamy, mashed potato.

You've got a creamy sauce.

So the plate is crying out for a little bit of crunch, texture

and freshness. So that's what the vegetables are there for.

-Right.

-Yeah?

The eggs were a complete shambles.

Compared to this morning, I think I did, like, 200% better,

and I was quite pleased with the outcome of the sauce.

Really well done.

There's highs and lows, there's goods and bads,

but the really good thing about it is I can see you all care.

All four of you really care and love what you do.

-Off you go...

-Thank you.

-..for a cup of tea.

-Thank you.

-I'll see you later.

-Thank you.

-See you in a bit, Chef.

-At the end of the day, we should see it as, like, we're a team.

-Yeah.

-As long as someone from UCB wins the whole thing, who cares?

-Yeah.

-Do you know what I mean?

-Yeah.

It's not as clear-cut as I thought.

After the egg test, it was fairly straightforward. My choice was made.

But now I've seen them already evolve,

and I've seen them already change.

Now I can see good in all four of them.

I like Sophie. She can cook.

She's definitely got a good palate - a VERY GOOD palate.

Reece - he really disappointed me with that chicken dish,

but I like what I see in him. I just like what I see.

So it's either Jodie or Matthew that I let go.

And that's not easy.

Who has taken on board already

what I believe in?

Who's got the best palate?

Who delivered the food on time?

Ultimately, Michel can only take on one protege.

He must now let the students know who is still in the running,

and who is going home.

-Gutted.

-Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

-SOPHIE SIGHS

-Yes!

-Chef.

-MICHEL CHUCKLES

-Not feeling too bad?

-No, no. I'm happy.

I got to cook for you.

-You've enjoyed a bit, you've, like, not liked a bit...

-Yeah,

but you move on, and...you know, a lot of positives. A lot of positives.

-Yeah.

-All four of you... All four of you have got something special,

and that's what made it difficult.

-Matthew.

-Chef.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

'I wished I could have gone... progressed further,'

and learnt more from Michel Roux,

but, at the end of the day,

I'm still smiles.

-Ah. Ah, come here, guys.

-THEY LAUGH

There's nothing that gives my father

and I more pleasure than passing on our knowledge.

It's a vital part, I think, of our life,

to help other young chefs.

Next time,

another three students from University College Birmingham

are offered the opportunity of a lifetime, as Michel's

search for his protege continues.

I'd had a bad scrambled egg experience with

-a microwaved scrambled egg, and I think...

-Ooh...

don't talk to me about microwaved scrambled eggs.

How long?

Er, four minutes.

Cor, blimey. How do you like your meat - still going "baaaa"?

It'd be quite bad, after six years,

if I can't cook an omelette, in a catering college.