Episode 17 The Chef's Protege

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

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

If you can find people that have the same feeling as you do about food, that's the magic you want.

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

that means that 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.'

You're a young man. Just try and learn gastronomy before you change gastronomy, OK?

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

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.

'And 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 Theo will finally decide who his protege will be.

'From an original group of seven,

'Theo is resting his hopes on 17-year-old Hayley

'and 18-year-old David from his old catering college in Weybridge.'

I've got two students left and I've got to choose one of them.

That one person's going to be my protege.

From when I first met them, they both seemed a little bit unsure of themselves,

and now their personality's come out.

And that's what's so nice to see in such a short space of time.

The experience has been amazing.

Things that I never thought I'd do, I've done.

For it to happen to someone like me, who's still at college, that's just unbelievable, really.

-You're licking your lips, Hayley. That's a good sign.

-It does look good.

Hayley's first day, she had no confidence at all.

-Have you cooked artichokes before?

-No.

-Have you eaten one?

-No.

It doesn't stand me in good stead, does it?

There was something about her that I kind of liked.

She seemed to understand food and seemed to understand me.

For fresh pasta, that's very good.

I think Hayley's a very natural cook.

And seeing her smiling and chatting and just being a different person has been so lovely to see.

Your character's really starting to come out.

-I'm proud of that.

-Yeah? Good girl.

All of a sudden, I could turn her into this brilliant cook.

-Good job!

-SHE LAUGHS

Working with Theo, it's been one of the best experiences.

He's just an amazing chef.

-Just like the stirring of a risotto.

-Good lad. That's exactly what it is.

David was very close to going at the beginning.

I remember the first day, he was the least successful of the chefs.

-My old teacher would not have been happy with that.

-No.

But I'm glad I've kept him, because over the next few days,

he started to show what he could do.

-Mm!

-Mm! Michel!

-This is a serious piece of cooking here.

-Mm.

-This has to be a contender.

My best moment was definitely when we cooked for Michel Roux and Tom Kitchin.

I just want to shake your hand, because that was absolutely fantastic.

-That's the best compliment I've had, ever.

-THEY LAUGH

I thought there was a bond between David and myself.

-Well done, you.

-They're a bit thinner, as well, so they're more delicate.

-Good boy!

He's got that potential to be absolutely brilliant.

OK, right, I'm going to choose one of you.

One of you is going to go through and cook

and cook in a final.

And in that final, there are going to be three very, very important judges.

I want you to look good. I want you to win this.

The person I choose I want to win this.

This is a competition between you two.

Let's get on with it.

'Theo is looking for a protege who can absorb his style of Italian cooking.

'From the age of 21,

'he worked alongside the great Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray

'at the groundbreaking River Cafe in West London.

'There they introduced rustic Italian food to this country.

'Today Theo wants David and Hayley to cook some of their defining recipes.'

They're cooking two dishes today.

One is a ribollita, which is one of Ruthie's favourite soups.

Ruthie is the queen of soup. When I was at the River Cafe,

she'd always make the soup and it was always absolutely amazing.

It may seem very simple and rustic,

but it takes a lot of skill to get it right.

When I was working with Ruthie, we'd always do a dish in the wood oven,

which was roasted pigeon on a bruschetta

with porcini mushrooms, which I absolutely adore.

What it's going to show about Ruthie's style is it's all about flavour.

It's about the kind of robustness of cooking

with a subtlety, as well.

Hopefully it'll be absolutely delicious.

'Their first priority is the soup,

'starting with a sofrito base of chopped celery, carrots and onions.

'While David has thrown himself into prep,

'after 12 minutes, Hayley is still reading the recipe.'

David's just gone for it. SHE LAUGHS

That's a sign of confidence.

I'm extremely nervous. It's two dishes close to his heart,

so they've got to be very good,

otherwise he'll be extremely disappointed.

It's really scary to think that I've got this far,

but I'd be gutted if I went out now.

The final's in my head and that's where I want to be.

OK, so a soup takes a long time to cook, doesn't it?

So why are you prepping the mushrooms?

This is the sort of thing you should be doing when the soup base is started.

The first thing you do is celery, carrot, onion. The mushrooms you can prepare while the soup's cooking.

-Come on!

-OK.

-You've got so far in this competition,

-I don't want to see you go because you just lost all your, kind of, confidence.

-OK.

Come on, don't let me down, please.

-How's it going, Chef?

-Yeah, not too bad. Just podding some beans.

-Getting on with it.

-Yeah.

-That's nice to see.

-Put some water on to boil.

-So you're multitasking.

-Go for the long jobs first.

-Yeah, absolutely right.

David seems to be flying. He's getting on with everything he needs to do.

Hayley's not back to square one, but she's sort of...

She comes into the kitchen and she seems to have just suddenly got very nervous

and lost all the confidence, all the things I've been trying to build up.

So she has to move a bit faster.

OK, I'm going to help you.

Now, start thinking for yourself a bit.

I'm being very nice, I'm doing your sofrito.

-The base for the soup.

-The base for the soup.

I'm doing this because I really feel you're going to be behind and I want you to cook some good food,

so I'm giving you a head start, OK? David, I haven't had to do anything.

-Yeah.

-OK? So I'll have to remember this.

'With Theo's help, Hayley is now back on track

'and ready to start prepping the cavolo nero,

'a tender and nutty flavoured Italian black kale.'

The cavolo nero is the most important ingredient in this soup.

It's got a lovely flavour

and the fact that you're blanching the cavolo nero

and you're keeping the cavolo nero water for the stock,

you get the true flavour of the cavolo nero in the soup.

It's the best way to eat cavolo nero.

'With the main soup elements of beans and sofrito base simmering away,

'David and Hayley can move on to the pigeon dish.'

David, come here a sec. I'm just conscious that you guys don't know how to bone this pigeon

so I'm going to show you very quickly and I want you to learn from what I'm doing, OK?

Take the legs off.

Wings off. You're going to cut down here,

take out the insides. This is the gory bit.

I want to keep the liver. That's the liver there. It's got so much flavour.

Now, watch carefully.

Go in on the joint and go along, using the tip of the knife.

We're going to get to the leg and dislocate the leg.

And then we're going to cut along using the middle of the knife.

I'm scraping, I'm pulling till I get to the backbone.

And then go along the backbone till it finishes. Then I go the other side.

-Down, along. Take out the wishbone at the bottom there. Can you see that?

-Mm-hm.

Down there. Release that. Using the knife,

I'm starting to pull the meat away from the bone.

Trim up the edges.

That's what you want. OK?

So you've got the two lovely fillets, you've got the leg in there.

-That was very quick.

-OK.

That's how quick you have to be. OK?

So I'll replace the one I've done with that one!

-Are you sure?

-Yeah, I'm absolutely positive.

I've never done, like, pigeon or birds before, really, so...

I watched what he does and he makes it look all so easy, though.

I'm just like...

Are you confident with that?

-As if. As confident as I'm going to be, I think.

-Yep. Just go for it.

-I'm just trying to follow the wishbone.

-You've gone completely the wrong way.

-Have I?

-Where's that leg going to be?

-Ah.

-You'll have to do it again. That's completely ruined.

Just to give you an idea, these are about £7.50 each.

OK? Start again. Look at mine.

-I've never done pigeon, so...

-It doesn't matter. It's the same, pigeon, chicken.

-All the same thing.

-Well, I'm enjoying it, it's another new experience.

-Good. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm not. It's a waste of my pigeons.

-I'm very sorry for that.

You're almost there. You've just got to cut the last little bit off.

I think that is not too bad.

OK, guys, you've still got an awful lot to do.

You've got to marinade the pigeon, check your beans, make sure they're cooked,

prepare your mushrooms, slice your mushrooms,

pan-fry your mushrooms with a bit of garlic and a bit of thyme and parsley.

You've still got to cut some bread for the soup and for the pigeon dish.

You've also got to cook the liver in the pan.

-So all in all, you've got rather a lot to do.

-Yeah.

I thought they were going to be much more on it today.

Maybe they're a bit too nervous.

They're both good cooks, they both naturally have a good palate.

That's what I chose them for. But, erm, we'll see.

So once your cavolo nero's cooked, chop it up, add it to the soup,

add a bit of the cooking liquor, then we're going to add the bread

and we're going to season and add some chopped parsley. OK?

All I can say is, get a move on.

'The final rustic twist to the soup is coarsely torn bread,

'added to thicken it up.

'Next, the pigeon is pan-fried with its liver and a slice of bread

'before being finished off in the wood oven.

'The final two elements

'are porcini mushrooms and Swiss chard.'

David, you can plate first. You don't have to wait for Hayley.

-Beautifully cooked.

-Yep. I'm happy with that.

'To make the bruschetta,

'David spreads the liver over the oven-roasted bread.'

Let's have the chard sort of draping around it, so you can see a bit of green around the plate. That's it.

-Visually, it looks really appetising.

-It looks beautiful.

Very good.

All the way down, just cut through.

-OK. And then...

-The chard.

Porcini mushrooms. Where's the porcini mushrooms?

OK. Is that ready?

-How do you think it went?

-Huh?

-How do you think it went?

-That took too long. You took 15 minutes.

-Way too long.

Way too long. You were much more impressive.

So I'm going to taste yours first, David, OK?

The soup looks nice. It's got a lovely texture to it. It's nice and thick.

Mm. Very tasty. Could do with a little bit more seasoning,

but the texture and the balance is very good.

-Thank you.

-OK, Hayley's.

Again, nice texture. Lots of black cabbage in there.

Nice amount of bread.

Check the seasoning more again. Didn't check the seasoning at the end, did you?

-Not right at the end, no.

-Yours is lacking seasoning more so than David's.

-OK.

OK, pigeon. I'm going to try your pigeon first, David.

The pigeon is nicely cooked.

Oh, I'm looking forward to this.

-Mm! Mm!

-That's what I wanted to see.

That is really good. Oh!

Your seasoning and your cooking is very good.

-Thank you.

-Very good. OK, Hayley.

-A little bit over-cooked. Should be much pinker than that.

-OK.

Your seasoning's pretty good. The mushrooms taste excellent.

As does the pigeon. It is over-cooked, but it's got a good flavour, you seasoned it properly.

It's a good effort.

-Don't be discouraged. You've still got another thing this afternoon.

-Yeah, I know.

-You can win my confidence back. It's not too late.

-Yeah.

I've maybe struggled a bit on a few days, but I think he's seen that my confidence is growing.

And hopefully he sees that I am a strong enough chef to be his next protege, yeah.

From my first day, I think I've definitely changed.

I just want to carry on as far as I can go.

Just so I can keep learning.

'After leaving catering college,

'Theo immersed himself in the French classics.

'But it was meeting Ruth Rogers that sealed his love for rustic Italian cooking.'

When I first rocked up at the River Cafe,

I remember meeting Ruthie for the first time

and she was just such a lovely, friendly person and we hit it off immediately.

I just knew what she wanted. And she would say, "I want to do this dish"

and I would deliver it and show her how I thought she wanted it and she would go, "That's it. Brilliant."

And it was just like, "Whoa!" It would suddenly give you turbo power

and you would want to work three times harder.

'For his final test before he chooses his protege,

'Theo is opening up his larder for the two students to create their own dish.'

Today's exercise is very personal. It's very much about what I do.

The food that I want to serve.

And, you know, I've got to let go of my ego

and let them create something.

It's for them to show me how good they are.

To pull it back is going to be hard. Obviously, David's so strong.

But, yeah, I'm going to try my best, I'll give it a good go and hopefully it all goes well.

I think I've got a grasp of how Theo cooks.

I just hope I can create a dish to his quality

and cook it to his quality at the same time.

If I do that, then there's a good chance that I can go through.

Any great ideas yet?

I'm thinking about doing a beef fillet with a chanterelle and marsala sauce

-with oven-roasted datterini tomatoes and sauteed spinach with garlic and olive oil.

-OK.

I'm thinking about putting something bitter in there,

cos you've got the sweetness of the datterinis and the marsala,

something to counteract the sweetness.

Keep it simple. I'm not going to try and push you what to do.

-What have you got?

-What to do...

You've got fish, monkfish, sea bass.

-Mm.

-You've got some liver. David's doing beef fillet, but you can, as well, if you want. Come on.

-Now.

-I know I want to do pasta as a base for it.

-Yeah.

But I don't know what to... Cos there's nothing that's grabbing me.

Cos it's not that obvious. But if you think about it,

-you've got some scallops there. You want to do pasta, yeah?

-Mm-hm.

Why don't we do a nice, fine pasta, like tagliarini or tagliatelle?

Scallops aren't something I've cooked before, so I...

-Try something new.

-OK.

I would start if I were you. Get on with it. Don't wait for Hayley, you'll be here all day.

You think I'm giving you pressure, if you get to the final, there'll be far more pressure, believe me.

-I know.

-You need to be a bit more confident in this.

-Yeah.

-I know.

-OK. I'm going to leave you.

-Yeah, yeah, go for it.

'Hayley finally settles on the sea bass,

'but not how she's going to serve it.'

If Hayley delivers a really good dish

and there's a sparkle in her eye and is confident

then she's still got a good chance.

At the moment, David's just got the edge on her from what he did today.

'David's already making the marsala and chanterelle sauce for his fillet.'

-Do you need anything?

-Maybe some cream.

-Cream?

-Yeah.

-What's cream?

-Double cream, sorry.

-I don't really cook with cream. What's going...

-OK. Erm...

-Olive oil.

-It's going to make the sauce slightly more difficult.

I like cream, but I think when you're cooking this kind of food,

cream will just make it very heavy.

-OK.

-Beautiful ingredients. Let's keep it simple.

David's dish is all sounding a bit odd. Mushrooms and cream and he wants stock to go with the beef.

It's not the sort of thing I'd do. There's nothing wrong with it, but I would use more vegetables,

something with a bit more texture and a bit more interesting.

How you doing, Hayley? Where are we going to?

I'm going to use the sea bass

and go with some spinach

and the tomatoes that you have.

-Spinach, sea bass, tomatoes. OK. Go for it.

-That's where I'm going.

Hayley's dish, spinach and tomato goes very nicely together. The sea bass will work nice with it.

She needs something with a bit more texture and flavour.

She's not really thinking outside the box.

You've speeded up a bit, Hayley, which is good to see.

You've got 20... Well, less than 20 minutes.

-So I'd really start thinking about cooking.

-Getting them in.

-The clock's ticking away.

-Yes, Chef.

I think if it's all cooked nicely, it'll be a very, very tasty dish,

so... I've just got to get the meat cooked properly.

Smells nice.

You've got wood-roasted beef fillet with datterini tomatoes,

blanched cime di rape with a bit of garlic and olive oil

-and a chanterelle marsala sauce.

-OK.

I'm not overly happy with the presentation.

You could've done a bit better. You could've put, maybe, the sauce on top of the fillet.

-It's going to be about the taste.

-Yeah.

-OK?

We've got pan-fried sea bass,

spinach, fennel.

And then the tomatoes, which are just fried off and roasted.

-It sounds nice.

-It sounds nice. OK.

So I'm going to take these plates into the restaurant and taste them

-and then I'll call you in when I'm ready, OK?

-Yes, Chef.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Ohh. That was tough.

-Not confident, really.

-No. I don't know. The presentation was terrible.

It could've gone so much better.

Both dishes smell nice.

They look nice. They're very simple, which I like.

I'm intrigued to see what they taste like.

David's first.

He did chanterelles and onions.

Not my favourite combination, but a very sort of classic, using mushrooms and onions.

He used the wood oven, which was interesting. He's really trying to please.

A little bit over-cooked for my liking.

Mm.

I like that cime di rape. He's blanched it really nicely.

It's tender but it hasn't lost any of its turnipiness.

The seasoning is good.

The mushroom sauce actually...

..quite delicious. The meat was a bit over-cooked,

but I'm not worried about that. What I'm seeing is something...

David's taken something from me.

I'm so glad he didn't put any cream in his sauce

because what he's done there is a very nice plate of food.

How you feeling?

-Not good.

-SHE LAUGHS

Let's try Hayley's.

Hayley's done a pan-roasted sea bass,

some oven-roasted tomatoes,

some spinach and some fennel, just some braised fennel. OK.

It's a nice, big, thick piece of fish.

It is hard to cook fish and she cooked it really nicely.

It's nice and juicy.

She could've seasoned the fish a bit more.

Mm. I tell you what's nice is the fennel.

The fennel and the sea bass goes well.

The spinach you could've squeezed a bit more

and added a bit of olive oil and a bit more seasoning.

I think Hayley... I mean, I'm eating her food.

She cooks really well and she's obviously very skilled.

She can cook food. She cooked this fish beautifully, she did her fish stew beautifully.

She's very good at cooking fish.

I've got to choose one of them.

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

I mean, without passion, then you can't really cook with your heart.

You know, they have to understand what I'm about.

And I've got to believe that they can deliver a really good plate of food in the final.

It's been quite a long week. You've both done very well.

I've seen you from the beginning and you've both grown.

You've cooked some fantastic food

and you've got pure talent, both of you.

And my protege is...

-..David.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

Now, you've done very well, Hayley.

You've been absolutely fantastic and I've helped you along and I think you're a great cook.

It is gutting and... Yeah.

I'm disappointed in myself, but I'm still proud that I've got this far

and I take on board all of the things that Theo's taught me and what he's said to me

and I'll grow from this experience.

I'm happy for him. I am. I'm a nice person.

-But, yeah, jealous.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-Give us a hug.

-Thank you very much.

-Good lad.

-Ohh.

-You're not going to let me down, are you?

-I hope... I'll try not to.

I tried to put as much passion in as I could.

He had faith in me and his faith has paid off.

I'm up for anything now. We've been through so much in this competition already,

I'm just wanting to do more and more.

'Tomorrow night, Michel Roux Jr finally chooses his protege.'

I'm going to have to choose one

and that one student is going to be very special.

I just hope they all stick. If they don't, I'm in trouble.

-What happened here?

-I just split it.

It's not an easy decision, it really isn't.

Hm.

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