Episode 16 The Chef's Protege

'Over the past three weeks, Theo Randall, Tom Kitchin and Michel Roux Jr

'have been searching for a protege they can take under their wing.'

If you find people that have the same feeling as you about food,

that's the sort of magic you want.

I've got to see that sparkle, I've got to see something

that means they will be able to take on board my DNA almost.

'Their challenge has been to spot their potential...'

Scrambled eggs - that's what I want you to cook.

-Normally, I use a microwave.

-HE GASPS

'..and pass on their knowledge.'

Just try and learn gastronomy before you change gastronomy, OK?!

What kind of chefs are you? What's going on? It's a pigsty!

I know you're hurting. So am I.

'Each has had a week to select the two strongest candidates from their catering colleges.'

There has to be more than just the cooking.

It has to be about the relationship.

I have to thrive on seeing them proceed to the next level.

I'm giving you another chance, OK?

'This week, they must choose just one apprentice to bring to London

'where, on Friday, the young chefs will compete

'to show what they've learnt from their mentors.'

This is quite simply the biggest moment of your cooking career.

'Their food will be judged by the people

'who have guided their mentors' own careers.'

I can't put a limit on how much Pierre Koffmann has influenced me as a chef.

You need to have someone who can really push you and get the best out of you.

My father is an incredibly hard taskmaster,

but he's a huge inspiration.

'Just how good do you have to be to create a legacy?'

'Today, it's Tom's turn to finally decide

'who his protege will be.'

'From an original group of seven, he is resting his hopes

'on 17-year-old Jamie and 18-year-old Jordan from Perth College.'

Massive day for me today - the choosing of the protege.

We're down to the best two. There's no doubt about that.

I'm really excited about today. I'm really open-minded.

I do not have a winner in my head.

To become his protege would just mean everything.

The fact that I'd have him as a mentor

would be such an amazing achievement.

Jordan, for me, has been the most satisfying student out of them all

because, you know, from the first day of nervousness to delivering the fondant...

That is bang on. You've got a sensational dish there.

..what I like about Jordan is his desire to succeed.

Whoever cooked this has got really good taste buds.

It's sharp and clear, defined cooking.

He's just embracing everything I'm saying.

And he wants it. He really wants this.

I'm definitely still keen to be Tom's protege.

I'd like to think I know what he's looking for through the last few weeks.

My first impressions were, "This guy's got something."

I think it's brilliant. I think it's stunning.

The dish that he cooked for Theo and Michel,

they're still talking about that dish!

Good sauce. Very good balance of flavours, as well.

That's got everything, hasn't it? I can't find much fault with that.

I think what you have to remember is, he's 17 years old!

What I keep asking myself,

"At 17, could I have been doing what Jamie's doing now?"

I'm not sure.

How are you doing? All right?

-How are you doing?

-Good, Chef.

-My boys.

Me, I'm so excited, honestly!

I couldn't sleep last night thinking, "What? Who? How's the day going to turn out?"

But, you guys, it's up to you now, OK?

-All right?

-Yes, Chef.

HE GROWLS PLAYFULLY

Come on, boys.

Lots of energy. Lots of energy.

-This is make or break today, yes?

-Yes, Chef.

-OK!

'Tom wants to choose a protege

'who shows the desire to carry on the traditions of the classics.

'At the age of 18, Tom began working at the legendary Pierre Koffmann's

'three-star La Tante Claire.'

It was such an honour to go and work for Pierre Koffmann.

He took me from a boy to a man.

He pushed me to the limits

and took me on this incredible journey, teaching me everything about cooking.

His flavour, this is what he's renowned for,

nobody extracts flavour like Pierre Koffmann from food.

'In Jamie and Jordan,

'he's looking for signs that they can absorb these classic techniques.'

I've chosen two dishes

which really represent the iconic Pierre Koffmann.

Salmon cooked in duck fat,

served with a piperade of red peppers.

The other dish, the pistachio souffle,

this is a dish that has been copied all over the world.

Pierre Koffmann's pistachio souffle is the ultimate dessert.

The students make a start on the salmon dish.

I didn't expect to be cooking something like this.

I've never really filleted salmon before.

I've never tried to confit before.

That's all new to me.

So it's just a case of adapting and learning as quick as I can.

Very important day. Very.

It means a lot.

Push your knife so it's kind of pushing up against the bone.

-Do you see what I mean?

-Yes.

-So then you're not digging into the flesh of the salmon.

-You've got to get all those bones and all that sinew off there, as well, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

Try and not touch it with those big hands of yours too much.

Treat it like a lady, young man, OK? Treat it like your girlfriend.

There's only two elements to the main course

but there's a lot riding on it!

Pin-bone it, skin it,

OK, into portions.

-Nice portions, ready to cook.

-Yes.

Gentlemen, we're going to cook the salmon in the duck fat.

This is what I want you to understand,

that sometimes, if you can just take a couple of ingredients

and cook it to perfection,

-that is all that's needed. OK?

-Yes.

I brought your duck fat to the temperature that is needed.

I want you both to feel that temperature, OK?

-That is the temperature that will cook it, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

-Let's go.

This is the most unbelievable way of cooking salmon.

Pierre Koffmann doesn't work with digital implements to help you cook it.

It's down to the finger.

37 degrees, that temperature, it's blood temperature.

Very skilled. Very difficult.

'Jamie and Jordan will need to judge exactly when the salmon is cooked.'

I've taken it off just to let the oil cool down a bit.

It's starting to get a bit hot.

I'll put it back on the stove when the oil starts to cool down again.

This is for testing if the salmon is cooked, OK?

Insert that very gently into the salmon.

If you have resistance, the salmon is not cooked.

The piperade is next, OK?

-Yes.

-You need to get that piperade on.

Put your heart and soul into it!

Sweat the onions.

Sweat.

-Extract that flavour, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

The hardest bit is that I've never done it before

so I don't know what it's like to do it.

It's a bit of pressure, yes.

-Jordan.

-Yes, Chef?

-I need to see this piperade going on soon.

-If you don't get that piperade on soon, it won't be ready. Do you understand?

-Yes, Chef.

It's very hard trying to cook at this sort of tempo.

This is pressure, trying to make sure that everything's cooked to perfection.

I hope I can do it. I'm not promising anything yet.

'With the confit salmon and piperade under way,

'they must now turn their attention to the pistachio souffle.'

People have been brought to tears in the restaurant by eating the pistachio souffle.

It is that good.

'They start by making the pistachio creme base.

'But Jordan isn't happy.'

I put it back on and cooked it out so it's a bit more thick,

because I'm not going to serve something that I'm not happy with.

Like Tom always says,

the little things is the difference between good and excellent,

so I think that's a little thing that could make a difference.

One of the most rewarding things for me

is the progress that they've each made.

They've taken on what I'm saying to them.

No matter what happens, this will stand them in good stead.

Smooth the top over.

Flat, OK?

Take your thumb around the perimeter of the souffle.

Lovely.

On the tray and in.

The perfect souffle - straight right up the sides!

-Yes, Chef.

-Flat!

Towering there with elegance!

Wish it luck.

-Huh?

-Yes!

-Definitely, Chef.

-You are now in the hands of the souffle god.

Nerve-racking.

Take the salmon out, carve it in half so it opens up.

-OK, Jamie, are we starting to come up now?

-Yes, Chef.

Come on, Jamie.

-OK, Jordan. Finished?

-Yes, Chef.

-Well done.

-Thank you, Chef.

Your salmon - neither of them are cooked

to the way that I wanted them to be cooked.

Yours is not cooked long enough.

The fat was the perfect temperature. It's not cooked long enough.

Your fat was too hot.

It's cooked on the outside and it's raw in the middle.

Jamie, first we'll taste your dish.

The piperade is fantastic.

The seasoning with the piperade, it's cooked with the duck fat,

it's where the essence of where this dish comes from.

That salmon - one minute 30 more in the duck fat

-and we've got perfection.

-Yes.

Ah, it was so close! So close!

-OK, Jordan.

-Yes, Chef.

Do me one thing, Jordan. If you get through to the final,

-don't put a sprig of parsley on your dishes, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

That stays in Scotland.

-Do you understand?

-Yes, Chef.

-It's not scampi and chips, Chef.

-Yes, Chef.

Let's taste.

The piperade - you didn't get it on fast enough, Jordan.

It's still got that bite in the peppers there.

-Yes, Chef.

-The more you cook it to get it compoted,

the more you release the flavour there.

And just missing that tiny bit of seasoning. Minimal!

But again, the difference between good and exceptional.

-OK?

-Yes, Chef.

Next up, the souffle.

This souffle, to a lot of people, is the Holy Grail.

Jordan, your souffle up first.

Let's taste. Crack that souffle.

Jamie, you up second.

Well, Jamie, your souffle was overcooked.

It had lumps in it.

-Overcooked by the margin of 30 to 40 seconds.

-Yes.

-OK?

Jordan, even less - 10, 20 seconds.

A little bit more chocolate on the outside and that would've been the perfect souffle.

Thank you, Chef.

Very interesting morning.

Two classic, classic Pierre Koffmann dishes.

You've both done them proud.

It sets it up very nicely.

Guys, this is serious cooking now.

I think I've moved on.

I'm starting to understand his food a lot more now.

I'm starting to take more and more on board each time.

This opportunity is massive.

I think Tom's seen something in me to keep me on.

At the end of the day, one of us has got to go home tonight.

Hopefully, it won't be me. Hopefully, I'll still be here.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind

I would not be the chef I am today

without the guidance of Pierre Koffmann.

We have a wonderful relationship. I think of him as like a father.

He looks upon me like a son.

'Inspired by Koffmann's teaching,

'Tom's style centres around maximising flavour

'by making the most of every ingredient.

'But there is only so much a mentor can teach.

'The students still need to have their own creative flair.

'Before he finally chooses who will represent him,

'Tom wants to test them by opening up his kitchen larder.'

My kitchen is your kitchen.

I want a dish that has my philosophy and the philosophy of Pierre Koffmann,

but also your heart and soul in there.

That's very important to me.

Beets, tatties, cauliflower.

-Do you reckon you could do a rosti in that time?

-I'm not giving you advice!

I think I've definitely got it in me to create a dish this afternoon

that represents Tom.

He's continued to use what he's learnt from Pierre Koffmann.

Hopefully, we can take something like that away from Tom.

It's starting to get serious now!

I'm doing the venison. I'm just trying to write things that will go with it.

I'm still struggling. I'm trying to bring things together now.

I think this dish is going to go a long way

to seeing how far they've come

and how far they've taken on my teaching.

Everything should be in this final dish.

-Jamie.

-Yes, Chef?

-What's cooking?

-I'm using pheasant. I'm going to roast the breast off,

hopefully get a ballotine and a leg done, roast some of the pumpkin.

How have I influenced you with your decision to this dish?

I'm just trying to use all the bird, Chef.

I'm using the carcass for the sauce, I'm using the breast, so there's no wastage.

The idea of using all the carcass, that's good.

Ballotine of pheasant with the legs? Goodness me, Chef!

It's going to be like Jamie we've never seen before!

You're going to have to go from third gear into fifth gear, boy.

-Good luck.

-Cheers.

What's really pleased me is, he's taken on the philosophy

in utilising the whole bird.

He's using the legs, he's going to use the breast,

he's going to use the livers, the heart.

What I like about Jamie, he's putting everything into this. He's going for it.

I don't think there's any point in trying to prove what you're all about

apart from just going for it, just giving it your all.

If it pays off, it pays off.

-Jordan.

-Yes, Chef?

-What are you doing?

Venison with some herbs.

I'm just making a wee potato fondant and celeriac puree to go with it

-and sauteed salsify.

-OK.

The basics of the dish sounds good.

Make it a celebration of root vegetables.

-Make that dish proud!

-OK.

-It could be good.

-Yes, Chef.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Jordan's dish is a little bit more hesitant,

but the idea is good.

He knows that he's got to cook that venison pink.

But how is he going to bring these vegetables round?

Every carrot, salsify, Jerusalem artichoke -

each one has to be cooked to perfection.

I know he likes a fresh way of cooking.

There's quite a few Scottish things in this dish -

venison, root vegetables.

It's just trying to infuse them all together.

This is exciting now for me.

It's quite an emotional moment for me.

I enjoy both Jordan and Jamie. It's not about personality now.

Now it's about delivering.

I'm looking for the best chef out of the two.

OK, gentlemen, we're about 22 minutes away

-from bringing up your dishes, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

I don't need to remind you how much is at stake here, guys.

-This is it for you guys, yes?

-Yes.

'Both boys are now on their all-important sauces -

'a pheasant jus for Jamie

'and a venison one for Jordan.'

I'm just breaking it up a little bit so it should infuse quicker.

'Tom is watching to see if they are following the principles

'he has been trying to instil in them all week.'

-Jamie, Jordan...

-Yes, Chef.

Come to the pass with your sauces, please, OK? Right.

There's something fundamentally wrong here

that we have to learn.

Jordan, that is possibly one of the worst-looking sauces I've ever seen in my life.

-Do you understand me?

-Yes.

Basically, you've sweated your vegetables, you've added water

and then you've added bones.

Exactly what are you going to achieve with this sauce?

-Nothing.

-Nothing.

You're a young man so you're here to learn your trade.

-OK?

-Yes, Chef.

Young man, your sauce is by no means any better.

All you've done is take my veal stock and boiled it.

Veal stock is not a sauce, OK? It's not a sauce.

With the carcass that you have left, roast your carcass off in the pan.

Make that pheasant carcass sing.

-Make that venison carcass sing. OK?

-Yes, Chef.

The sauce is the most fundamental thing in cooking.

15 minutes extra.

Understand me, that's not good enough!

'They both begin from scratch,

'this time caramelising the bones to bring flavour to the sauce.'

I'm disappointed. To be fair, I haven't taught them how to make the ultimate meat sauce,

but the basic understanding of caramelisation,

we have been through in great detail.

I was hard on them but I have to be hard on them.

I just gave it a try. I was wrong so I've just got to learn from that.

He didn't want to taste the sauces we were going to put up.

I'm still confident I can put up a good dish.

-Seven minutes, boys. BOTH:

-Yes, Chef.

The sauce is now nice and dark.

Hopefully, the presentation will work out perfect.

To be put under that much pressure in an environment like this

and asked to cook for me, with everything at stake,

it's really not easy.

I'm going to take the two dishes into the restaurant,

I'm going to taste both dishes

and, after that, I'm going to make my decision.

-Good luck, man.

-Thank you.

'Tom starts with Jordan's pan-fried loin of venison

'with root vegetables and the venison sauce.'

The cooking of the venison is slightly over.

I said, "Make it a celebration of root vegetables."

The only root vegetables I've got are salsify, which isn't cooked properly,

Jerusalem artichoke and a little bit of celeriac puree.

The celeriac puree was what was going to really bring this dish together

and, unfortunately, we don't have enough.

'Jamie's dish is roasted breast and a ballotine of pheasant

'with roast pumpkin,

'pumpkin puree and a pheasant jus.'

The cooking of the pheasant is perfect,

but the real king in this dish is his little ballotine of leg.

He's done it fantastically well.

He's made a very nice pumpkin puree

and he's done a lovely roasted pumpkin, as well.

The sauce has brought the dish together.

This pheasant dish is really excellent.

I really have to be true to myself here in the decision that I'm going to make.

I have to be honest.

The one thing I love about Jordan - he's got that want,

he's got that desire, he's got that passion.

He embraces it like a true chef.

He's just been a breath of fresh air to me.

Jamie is the most accomplished chef I've ever come across at 17.

He's doing things at 17 that, I can tell you right now,

I wouldn't have had a clue how to do.

If he continues to push himself

and dedicate himself to this profession,

we've got the making of a top, top young chef.

The thing I really have to ask myself is,

which one of these two has taken on board

exactly what I've tried to teach them?

Guys, come round.

Come on, Jordan.

This has been the most amazing journey, for me personally

and for you, as two young cooks.

You've embraced it in the right way, guys,

and, for that, I'm very, very proud of you.

Thank you, Chef.

I've made my decision.

The person I'll be taking as my protege...

..is Jamie.

-Well done.

-Thanks very much. Cheers, mate.

-Well done, Jamie.

-Thanks very much.

-Cheers.

-Commiserations.

-Thanks, Chef.

Jamie, many congratulations.

You're a fantastic young talent.

-Jordan.

-Yes, Chef?

-Commiserations.

-That's fine.

Young man, the way you've progressed, the way you've embraced it,

the emotion you've shown,

I want this to be the beginning of Jordan, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Chef.

-Well done.

-Thanks.

Gutted. Absolutely gutted.

But I'm quite happy I've made it this far

and I've done what I can.

Obviously, the better chef won on the day.

I've got a great experience and I'll take that experience with me everywhere I go.

-I'm so proud of you, Jamie.

-Thanks.

-I hope you're enjoying it, son, because you've got what it takes.

It's been the most amazing experience so far. I feel so bad for Jordan because we're mates.

You deserve this more than anyone else.

You're the one who's got the ability.

Of course you feel sorry for Jordan, but this is about you, Jamie.

-OK?

-Yes.

-It's you and me in the final, OK?

-Yes.

-We're going to London. We're up against Michel and Theo and our mentors.

-Yes.

-We're going there to win.

-Yes.

'Next week,

'Theo Randall has to choose one of his students to be his protege.'

It's so important that they have that passion for food.

Without passion, you can't really cook with your heart.

The first thing you need to do is celery, carrot, onion. Come on!

Don't let me down, please.

You've gone the wrong way. You'll have to do that again. It's completely ruined.

Oh, I'm looking forward to this!

Mmm!