Episode 5 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 will 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...

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!

You're excited! Hallelujah!

Tom, Theo and Michel are searching for someone

who they think is a worthy apprentice.

-Happy, chef Shonagh?

-I think so!

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

How many have you done?

-One so far.

-You've done one?

-Sorry, Chef.

Before they compete against each other

to see who has the best protege.

This week it's Tom's search, which started at his old catering college.

Come on, Shauny!

From seven he is now down to three students.

17-year-old Jamie

triumphed yesterday with his mallard dish of the day.

18-year-old Jordan's passion and determination continues to grow.

But 20-year-old Harriet, who has been strong throughout,

stumbled on her dessert.

I told you, I don't want to see Granny's crumble.

And today, Tom can only choose two to continue in the competition.

It's 8am in Edinburgh.

And Tom is putting the three students to the test

in his Michelin-starred restaurant.

I'm hoping today is going to be a real inspirational day for the guys.

I was their age, I had just left Perth College,

and I had dreams of having my own restaurant, and here I am now,

and I'm still as excited about it as I was on day one.

There is not a bigger compliment I could give these guys

than giving my wife and I's restaurant to cook in.

This is our livelihood, our soul, our everything.

I'm very eager to please today,

especially when the challenge is taking place in Tom's kitchen,

so you've got to go out there and give it your all, do your best.

It's what I've always wanted to do, be a chef,

and I've had this opportunity to come here

and I want to prove how much it actually means to me.

Please, morning.

I think Tom probably

sees something in all of us because we've all got to this final stage.

Hopefully I can impress him today

and show him that I can stand out

and impress him more than the other ones.

Come in, come in.

Big day today, guys, I want you to enjoy it.

Let's get changed, let's compose ourselves, and let's get cooking.

Tom has seen Jamie, Harriet and Jordan grow over the week.

To help him decide on his final two

he wants to see them cook more of his own food.

He's invited three diners who matter to him more than anyone.

His wife, Michaela, whom he set up the restaurant with six years ago,

his maitre d' and business partner, Philippe,

and his sous chef of two years, Alistair.

Today it's going to be hard for them.

He just wants them to be successful

and I know he's putting in everything

to make sure they can do the very best they can.

Chef is very good as a teacher,

because he has a lot of respect for other young people

who are willing to go through all this pain,

and this training, to become a chef themselves.

Tom is throwing the students in at the deep end here,

but to help them he will take them through each dish step-by-step,

telling them exactly what to do.

Harriet will cook the razor clams starter.

What we do in the restaurant is, when the customer orders the razor clams,

we don't take the easy option and have the razor clams ready.

So today, when the people come in to eat,

I want you to wait and wait and wait until they sit down,

and then we have to cook them, so they're getting that real freshness.

So, we go in with our razor clams.

White wine.

Lid on.

As soon as they start to open, that's when we have to take it off the heat.

And drain it.

The secret to this dish is this cooking liquor,

you see all that cooking liquor?

It smells really good.

That is going to become the sauce, OK?

I definitely need to prove myself today,

because obviously yesterday my dessert wasn't as good as I hoped,

so I need to prove to him that my timing can be better,

that my dish can be better, and also I can do starters as well.

OK, here's our cooking liquor.

In there we put some diced chorizo,

very little fine dice of anchovy,

and some lemon confit.

'Today I'm going to push Harriet.

'I need to see what she can do.'

When she did that apple crumble,

it actually was like a dagger in the heart,

because for me she was the one that really understood me,

she was the one who was really getting it.

In with the diced vegetables.

And then the main ingredient, the razor clams.

And then I'm just coating them in the sauce, like so.

And that's it.

-You up for it?

-Definitely.

You can do it, Harriet, you can do it.

I've never cooked razor clams before,

so it's a first for me as well, and to do it today, I'm a bit nervous about it.

Jordan is cooking Tom's main,

of hay-smoked lamb,

served with a selection of offal.

His first job will be to render down the fat and brown the meat.

Once the lamb is coloured all over,

place the hay into the pot,

and then in the oven.

Now, we're going to serve with this lamb's tongue,

lamb sweetbreads,

and another part which is very unusual,

but again is one of the forgotten foods,

lamb's testicles, OK?

Ever cooked them, Chef?

No, Chef.

Everyone's intimidated by the thought of eating testicles,

but in many countries this is a true delicacy,

and in Scotland and in the UK,

people have a fear of offal because it's always cooked so badly.

I eat everything, as long as it's prepared properly.

And again, testicles, absolutely love them, mate.

I still feel like I'm learning.

Obviously every day I learn something new with Tom,

but I can feel that I'm slowly starting to pick up his style.

In with the sweetbreads, they have to be crispy.

Jordan has gradually been getting better and better,

and he cares, and that means so much to me,

I can see that when something goes wrong,

or he's not happy with something, he's really beating himself up

and I like that.

The lamb.

Down.

Look how pink that is, Jordan. I expect the same.

And there we have a real celebration of lamb, Jordan,

something that says Tom Kitchin all over it.

I'm excited, it's an honour to actually be cooking a dish like that.

And I'll hopefully try my best to do you proud.

Nothing would give me more pleasure.

-I'll try my best, Chef.

-Go on, boy.

Now I'm really nervous, I've never done such a complex dish.

It's going to be quite hard, it's going to be very hard,

but I'll hopefully be able to do it.

Jamie will finish the meal

with Tom's buttermilk panna cotta and summer fruit consomme.

OK, so what we're going to do, I've given you the recipes,

I'm giving you the guidelines, and I'll give you the presentation.

The rest is up to you and how you bring it together.

The recipe says 400g of strawberries,

400g of raspberries, 50g of sugar.

But, like with everything, that might not be true,

depending on the strawberries, the raspberries,

because they change throughout the season,

so you have to find that taste, Jamie.

'I think what I'm really impressed with with Jamie is the learning,

'the level of concentration, and the ability of execution.

'But he's 17 years old. I feel like there's this flower'

that needs to be pushed out, the young Jamie hasn't blossomed yet.

I hope Tom sees something in me,

I'm learning things through the stuff Tom is passing on to us,

definitely starting to take on Tom's style of food,

the way he uses ingredients, the combinations he uses,

just sort of picking up that sort of stuff from Tom.

The theatre is the consomme, we serve on the side.

That is just red fruits, nothing else, OK?

Then the rich, blackcurrant sorbet.

It just goes on top. OK?

This is the most simplistic looking dish,

but I think it was really important for me today, Jamie,

that you were brought back to what it's all about, for me,

-to really get that into this head, let nature speak for itself.

-Yep.

I'm feeling confident in my ability, it's just like the pressure

of being in his kitchen doing it,

that's the only thing that might get to me.

Now Tom's taught them his dishes he will step back

while the students prepare lunch for his wife, maitre d', and sous chef.

Guys, so here we are, we're ready now, OK?

No matter what happens you've come so far,

let's take it that little step further. OK?

Let's go. Yes, Chef.

Tom has decided to step back to see how much of his philosophy

and passion for cooking the students have absorbed over the week.

It's really up to them now,

I have to see what they can take on the shoulders.

With her dish not cooked

until the guests are seated

Harriet needs to have all the elements ready to go before service,

including her finely diced vegetables.

I'm trying to get all the veg the same size.

One, for presentation, and two, for the taste in the mouth.

You don't want to be eating one piece of veg that's overcooked cos it's smaller

and one piece that's bigger and undercooked.

As well as preparing the meat and offal for the main,

Jordan also has several garnishes to cook, including a braised lettuce parcel.

It's quiet,

but it's also nerve-racking,

in case he's thinking something,

so you try and look at what he's looking at

and see if you've done something wrong,

but it's just a guessing game just now until service comes.

With his berry consomme in progress Jamie checks on his almond tuiles.

-How's it going?

-Having a little bit of trouble with my tuile just now.

I've tried to cut it, Chef, but I still don't think it's right,

but I'm going to see if it sets crispy.

OK, guys, so we understand that

this is more important to me personally

than anything we've done so far.

Remember that, please.

Really excited to be eating the food,

because being in the kitchen you don't get the chance.

These people live and breathe this restaurant,

this is a family restaurant.

We're all emotionally attached.

And they're going to be cooking my food for my people.

These dishes are hard,

lots of pressure,

we're lucky to be on this end.

Harriet? Yes, Chef?

OK, let's start to pick up the momentum a little bit now,

-the guests will be coming through into the restaurant very soon.

-Yes, Chef.

As soon as we see them sitting down you have permission

to start to cook the razor clams, OK?

Jordan, once it starts with Harriet,

that's your key to step it up a gear in your head there, OK?

Yes, Chef.

Harriet? Yes, Chef? That's them coming through now, OK?

So the first course is one of my absolute favourites,

the razor clams, I love this dish.

Harriet now has ten minutes to recreate Tom's dish from scratch,

including the essential razor clam liquor and white wine sauce.

Have you got cooking liquor?

Yes, Chef. Where?

We haven't added enough white wine to create the sauce,

it's going to be very difficult from here.

Ready, chef.

Thank you.

They've done a great job with the chopping of the vegetables,

but my razor clam,

I can see that it's not been quite cut off from the actual shell,

but it's practice, it's absolutely practice.

Lemon comes through very well, good seasoning.

One criticism that I do have, though,

is the whole idea behind the dish is to intensify the flavour

and give it more depth and that hasn't quite been achieved here.

it tastes nice but I think it could be better.

I think I remembered to season and taste the dish,

I could have probably left it in the pan a bit longer to begin with,

just so I got more of the stock out of the fish.

So, I don't know.

With 15 minutes until the main course

Jordan's lamb should already be cooking.

Jordan? The lamb will be ready for three o'clock?

Er, yes, Chef.

Three o'clock.

Roughly.

There's no way it's going to be ready,

there's no way it's going to be ready,

so now you're going to have that added extra pressure of waiting on the lamb.

When the lamb comes out the oven, if the lamb is not rested,

it will be raw in the middle.

Six minutes to three.

Just running a bit behind.

Should have got my lamb on five minutes earlier.

TIMER BEEPS

One of the lambs is, I think, slightly undercooked,

one might just make it, we'll see.

It's a bit under.

What's the plan, Jordan?

I'll just put that back in the oven until I get this stuff plated up.

Jordan, we have to go. Yes, Chef.

You have to do something here.

Ready? Yes, Chef.

-What happened?

-I didn't cook it for long enough.

-Hmm?

-I haven't cooked it for long enough, Chef.

Thank you.

Come here.

You're hurting.

I'm hurting, because I believed in you so much.

You didn't concentrate on putting the lamb away,

you were watching her dress the razor clams,

the lamb had eight minutes before it was in the room,

it was still raw on the table.

-Do you understand the frustration?

-Yes, Chef.

I can honestly say that this moment here right now

is the most frustrating moment I've had on this whole journey.

I know you're hurting, so am I.

This is not finished, I want to see you cleaning,

you're still under assessment, OK?

Yes, Chef.

Jordan, get some fresh air.

That was a very, very difficult piece of cooking, do you understand?

Yes, Chef.

You're crying because you care.

-I love what I do.

-Eh?

I love what I do.

You're crying because you care.

So if you weren't crying it would show you didn't care.

It's a very good-looking plate of food

but I think my lamb is slightly undercooked.

I think it could have been rested a little bit. Mine is on the rare.

For me, the meat is perfect. And the flavours of the hay are beautiful.

Sweetbreads, I like a touch crispier.

Definitely.

Again, to bear in mind

that they've just been cooking with Tom for a few days,

I think this is a good-looking dish, and very tasty.

Beautiful.

Jamie?

-This is your time, boy.

-Cheers.

Come on, come on, come on.

How long, Jamie?

-One minute, Chef.

-One minute.

Looking for a nice quenelle here, Jamie.

Hello, Jamie.

This is your buttermilk panna cotta, with red berries,

blackcurrant sorbet and a red berry consomme.

Thank you!

Beautiful, lovely presentation.

Yeah, absolutely.

But, for me, my quenelle is not perfect,

other than that I think the presentation of this dish

-is as good as Tom would do it.

-Yeah.

I think it's been very well put together, very well executed.

For me personally the consomme is slightly too sweet.

I think the berries are quite acidic,

so you need a bit of sweetness to balance that out.

And, as we all know, I love sweet things!

I've worked so hard this week and I like to think I've taken a lot on board,

and I'm learning a lot from Tom every day, it's just brilliant.

Good luck.

In the end, Tom is looking for just one apprentice,

and today he must lose another student from the running.

For me, Jamie's proved his worth, he's earned the right to automatically go through.

With Harriet,

I see just a fantastic young cook,

but after yesterday's Granny's apple crumble

this was a massive day for Harriet.

The razor clams,

we didn't get the right amount of white wine in to create the sauce,

the presentation was messy,

and it was tough for Harriet today, it was really tough.

With Jordan, today's been a massive learning curve.

He knows himself the mistakes he made,

he just broke, because he cared.

I don't want to sound like the old guy here,

but I'm delighted he broke, because he cares so much.

If he's going to make it in this industry

he has to now take the criticism, get on, next service, and do something.

And what I have to think about is do I think that mistake that he's made today,

do I think he's going to improve on that and rise one day to be a top chef?

After a week together

Tom has chosen to deliver his decision

to each student one on one.

Jamie, another big performance today, Jamie.

You didn't let me down.

You're my rock, Jamie.

You should be really proud of yourself.

To have Tom say something like that to me,

is just really worthwhile after putting in the effort this week, such a brilliant experience.

-JORDAN:

-I'm so nervous. Scared.

I have to be honest, this is an investment in someone's future.

I mean, how can I choose between the two?

How are we doing?

Bit nervous.

Tell me, what happened today?

For me to get angry like that,

because it was disappointment for me, I was so disappointed, Jordan.

I wanted you to deliver this dish, and you were on course,

and then all of a sudden you just blew it, completely.

Never, ever felt like I did there when I realised I'd messed up.

-Why? Because you cared?

-Yes.

Because you want it? Or because you're falling in love with food?

Falling in love with food.

It means the world to me.

I've always cooked, I've always wanted to be a chef.

Have you always cooked? Or is this start of really cooking?

This is the start of really cooking.

I like you, Jordan.

I see something in you.

I want you to continue on this journey with me.

-Don't let me down, Chef.

-Thank you.

Harriet,

today was difficult, wasn't it?

-Definitely, a lot of pressure.

-It was a difficult dish.

Harriet, I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go, after today.

But I want to really concentrate on the positives of Harriet,

because it's been such a pleasure working with you

and such a pleasure to get to know you,

and to see you progress, like you have progressed.

This is not the end of Harriet, this is the beginning of Harriet.

Thank you.

Take care.

Gutted that I'm going,

but I've learned a lot over the past week.

Tom's been fantastic as a mentor,

it's going to be really important,

because in years to come I'll look back and remember all the things that I've been taught,

he's been really good.

It's still taking its time to kick in.

I wasn't expecting it.

Me and Jamie, just us two. From Perth College.

Quite a nerve-racking thing.

Jordan and Jamie will be back in the final week

when Tom Kitchin will choose his protege.

This is it, guys, after this there can only be one winner.