Episode 8 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 that 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, 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! Eh? You're excited!

-Definitely, chef.

Hallelujah!

Tom, Theo and Michel are searching for someone who they think is a worthy apprentice.

-Happy, Chef Shona?

-I think so.

-SHE LAUGHS

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

-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 Theo Randall's search.

And he's returned to his old catering college in Weybridge

where he's shortlisted five of his best students.

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

-No.

What you've produced is actually a very nice plate of food.

HE SIGHS Thank goodness he turned up.

It's Theo's last day at Brooklands College

before he selects the strongest students to take forward.

It's a bit calm in there.

Do we think these people are actually there?

Today, he's asked the students to do just one thing,

cook their favourite dish.

He's then going to tell them how to improve it.

It's very important for a young chef to find a mentor.

You need someone to guide you.

You need someone who's going to give you advice when you're going wrong without intimidating you.

Pushing you in the right way.

Theo's first mentors were the legendary Ruth Rogers and Rose Grey,

who taught him that a protege not only needs skill,

but the ability to take on board what the mentor is trying to teach.

Theo's style, the way he cooks, it's just awesome.

And I can't think of learning it from anyone better, really.

Ever since I've come here, he's made me once a little bit more and more each time.

Theo inspired me by the way he cooks.

It takes no time and it tastes so good.

And I want to one day be able to do that.

I didn't do very well in the last round,

so I'll try and up my game for this one.

I'm making an orange and rhubarb crumble.

I'm a bit pushed for time. I think I'm a bit behind,

but hopefully going to be all right, yeah.

OK, guys. It's 10 o'clock now. You should have served your dish by now.

-Oh, I would be last out.

-Hayley, how you doing?

-Nearly.

-What's nearly? 5, 10, 15 minutes?

-I would say about 2, if the crumble's done.

-It's not good.

OK.

Monika...let's do your plate first. OK.

Monika's dish is chicken parmigiana,

topped with mozzarella, served with a marinara sauce and salad.

It's a bit sort of pub grub.

I have a pet hate where you serve salad with hot food as a main course.

I can't stand it, always have the salad separately or make it as a salad.

Taste your sauce.

Your sauce is good. It's just a bit messy. There's no finesse in it.

To improve this dish, what I would do, I would get the chicken breast,

I would leave the skin on, I would get some prosciutto,

make same mascarpone, a bit of thyme, bit of lemon zest

So we put that inside the breast and that would be a much more interesting dish

-than having mozzarella melted on top.

-OK.

-OK. Are you happy with it?

-Erm... 50-50.

-50-50. So there's big room for improvement.

-Yeah.

-OK.

But we can work on that.

I'm here to learn and I'm learning from my mistakes,

so next time I definitely shall do better.

So, Ellis, tell me what this dish is?

Seared venison, pureed potato, pureed celeriac

and kale with a bit of balsamic.

-One of my pet hates...

-No slates.

-Are slates.

SHE LAUGHS They're meant for roofs - keep them on them.

I was trying to be modern and edgy.

-There's nothing wrong with a nice white plate.

-Yep.

-All right.

You know, it's a good combination, quite appetising.

-You say medium rare, yeah?

-Yeah. I hope it's OK.

-Looks pretty good.

-It's tender, lacks seasoning.

-Hmm.

The venison... it's slightly nondescript.

I'm thinking about wrapping it in something like coppa di parma.

We could roll it up and you could roast, it. You know, get the best out of the ingredients.

There are nice ingredients there, I just think we need to move them around in a better way.

-What you think?

-I like the sound of that.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

-It does sound good. Thank you.

-Well done.

Theo's a good teacher and I understand where he's coming from.

If I understand him, I think it can work.

So, Nathan, what is this dish called?

It's halibut and salmon on top of crushed potatoes and spinach with a watercress sauce.

The lattice effect is not the sort of thing I would do,

I like to see what the fish looks like.

Let's taste it. Have you got a knife and fork?

So...fish...a little bit overcooked.

Good seasoning though. What did you do with the spinach? Because it is pretty good.

When I saw you on the Internet the other day,

I saw with spinach you like keeping the stalks on cos of the sweetness.

Yeah, that's good. I like a bit of initiative.

How about keeping it simple? Maybe just use one of the fish.

Something like John Dory. Bake it in a bag with a bit of vermouth, which is quite a sweet wine.

You get this lovely natural flavour of the fish, because it's all steaming together.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Less is more. OK?

-Cool.

I'm just going to listen to Theo's advice.

I'm starting to understand how he cooks and how he wants his stuff.

OK, David, what's your dish?

I have an elderflower sorbet with a vanilla panna cotta

and passion fruit jelly and almond shortbreads.

That's good. A bit of movement in the panna cotta.

If it stays still there's too much gelatine,

but that doesn't look too bad.

That's nice. Quite refreshing.

Good texture. The passion fruit, it's very sour.

I would maybe juice the elderflower cordial down to give it a bit more sweetness,

put the passion fruit in and then make a nice sauce to pour on top of the panna cotta.

Now, your biscuits, they're a little bit too biscuity.

I would make them a little bit thinner, a little bit more elegant.

-It kind of works as it is, but it could be much better.

-Yeah.

-No, I understand.

-But a good effort, David.

-Thank you very much.

I think I'm starting to get his way of cooking.

I enjoyed quite a few aspects of it,

so I think I'm starting to get in tune with him a bit.

-Hayley, what is this dish?

-Today, I have made an orange and rhubarb crumble

-served with a creme anglaise custard.

-OK.

Mmm!

Looks OK.

You've got the balance right, you haven't got too much rhubarb, you haven't got too much crumble.

I like that. The only thing is maybe you and Monika could open up a pub together.

I cook Italian food, I think we could work with this and do like an Italian variation on it.

-Yeah, definitely.

-And I'm thinking of polenta and that lovely flavour of orange

and make a kind of cake, a sort of torta. Make a sweet cream maybe using mascarpone.

-Do you like the sound of that?

-I can see where you've got the basic ideas from my dish.

-It sounds really interesting.

-I just want you to understand what I'm all about.

If I choose you as my protege, you've got to absolutely understand exactly the way I'm thinking.

-But you just have to move faster.

-Yeah.

-OK?

It's definitely something I'm working on.

Well, you need to work pretty quickly on it.

OK. Thank you.

Theo's changes are quite far away from my original dish idea.

It's definitely going to be a challenge, but I'm hoping that I can do it.

So you guys will be cooking those dishes and serving them

to real customers in the college restaurant.

It's very important that you've listened to what I've said.

Clear down. Let's start again.

Like all catering colleges,

Brooklands has a training restaurant.

The students only have two hours to prep the dishes for lunch service.

And they should already have started.

These are young novices, really.

They're not going to be used to having someone like me running a kitchen.

But I want to find my protege, so they have to be really on the ball.

CHATTER

Guys! You haven't cleared up your dishes.

What's going on?!

-What kind of chefs are you?!

-Sorry, chef.

-It's a pigsty!

If one of you wants to be my protege,

I do not expect this kind of treatment.

You're just too relaxed.

There's going to be a service here in two hours

and this is not a kitchen ready for a service. I mean, it's far from it.

There's no sense of urgency, this is what I'm finding upsetting.

I like him being harsh, because I think we're going to learn.

OK, so we're going to make a stuffing for this chicken.

So can you zest one lemon?

Although Monika has shown real ambition, her unrefined chicken parmigiana didn't impress Theo.

Monika has got a very kind of... Boom! Thud! Italian cooking kind of thing,

which is probably 30 years out of date.

He now wants her to make a classic Italian stuffing for her chicken.

So we've got our chopped thyme, zest of a lemon and garlic

which has been crushed with salt. You start mixing that together.

I never actually thought you could mix all those ingredients together to get something good.

OK, so a spoonful of mascarpone into the prosciutto.

Push it nice and flat. Lift up the skin.

-OK, so we've got a nice chicken breast.

-OK.

-OK.

-Do you think you could do the?

-Yep.

-Yeah?

He kind of changed the whole concept of my dish I had before.

But a challenge is a challenge, so I accept.

John Dory fillet. Hold it in your hand.

-Yeah?

-Season the fillet.

-Yeah.

Nathan has been one of Theo's star pupils.

Instead of using two types of fish, Theo is simplifying his dish by using only John Dory.

Over. You've got to form a little bag. It's got to be very, very neat.

-Right, that's your bag.

-So, if I prep up seven of them.

-Prep up seven of them, OK?

-Cool. Sweet.

While you're prepping those, get the potatoes boiling. And blanch your carrots as well.

-All right, cool.

-OK.

The thing about Nathan is he listens to people.

So if I can get him thinking the same way I'm thinking,

he could probably perform really well and do exactly what I tell him.

-So this is a cured meat.

-Yeah.

-It's got a lovely smell to it.

It's got quite a lot of fat in it, so we're going to season our meat.

Ellis shares Theo's love of Italian ingredients.

He liked her venison dish, but to enhance its flavour,

he wants her to wrap it in coppa di parma ham.

Does that help it not cook so quickly?

What it's going to do is baste it as it cooks, so you'll get a nice flavour into there.

-So the fat's going to seep into it?

-Absolutely right.

-OK.

Once service has started, she should be OK. She's got her garnishes ready.

But she's then got to cook the venison to order.

It's just going to be more about plating and making it efficient and cooking the meat nicely.

After a shaky first day, David impressed Theo with his dish.

He planned to serve an elderflower sorbet and passion fruit jelly

with his panna cotta, but Theo wants them combined to make a sauce.

-How's that looking?

-It's looking very nice.

-How's it taste?

It was tasting lovely.

-OK, so put that straight into ice.

-I've got ice water there.

-Good lad.

Theo also wants David to refine his shortbread biscuits.

-They look nice, don't they? Well done you.

-They're more delicate.

-Good boy.

-You listened.

-I did.

David is shining at the moment because he's got everything sorted out.

I kind of like keen people, because if you've got a keen person,

they're going to listen to you and you'll be able to teach them.

Hayley was late serving her own dish.

Now Theo wants her to turn it into a polenta cake instead.

So what are you going to do first?

-Make the cake, I guess.

-We need to get a bit more passion from you.

You've got to start paying attention, OK? Work, get on with it.

-Don't worry about whatever everyone else is doing, just get on with it.

-I'm on it.

Good, that's the kind of thing I want to hear, "I'm on it."

Yes, sir.

Hayley's been cooking really nicely but she lacks initiative

and I need to help her along a lot.

We're a little bit relaxed at the moment. I think we need to get a move on.

I need to get this cake in the oven. It's like... HE SIGHS

David's made his biscuits. I haven't even been anywhere near David yet.

I've got to come and nurse you all through this.

-You don't have to nurse me through it.

-I do hope not. Now, let me just taste that.

Delicious! It tastes great. Put it in the tin and cook it, please.

SHE LAUGHS

-How many have you done?

-Just one so far.

-You've done one?!

-Sorry, chef.

Come on.

That's just ridiculous. In the last hour they've just done so little, they're been faffing around.

I really need them to get on with it.

32 minutes to the first order.

There are going to be some hungry people in there.

I'm just very conscious that we're not going to get anything.

Hayley's cake is not even in. Monika, your vegetables aren't even blanched yet.

-Ellis, where's the venison?

-The venison is in the oven still.

Why?! You're cooking to order!

What the hell are you putting it in the oven for?!

-Oh, my...!

-It's all good.

HE SIGHS

It's quite difficult to really concentrate and nurture them without telling them off.

That is fine. Scary!

I could have sworn he said put it in there, but obviously not.

Me not listening, not his fault.

Go. OK.

Good afternoon.

The college restaurant is supported by the local community.

I've seen what they've been doing during the week

and they seem to be progressing very quickly.

So I'm quite looking forward to this, actually. Yeah, very much so.

Right, clear all this area down. We'll doing service in a minute and It's a pigsty!

I think the problem is they've never really experienced a service in a restaurant.

I need to teach them how important it is to deliver something on time.

But this is where I've got to come in and try and nurture them and make sure they deliver.

They can choose from three mains -

Ellis' venison dish, now roasted in coppa di parma ham,

Monika's chicken improved with a ham and mascarpone filling and vegetables,

and Nathan's fish, simplified using only John Dory and served with new potatoes.

Have you got water on to blanch your vegetables?

Monika, have you got water on to blanch your vegetables?

-Not yet, chef.

-What are you doing?!

You prepare the vegetables, you then have got to blanch them

and we've got to wait for the water to boil.

It's just like... Use your head, please!

-I'll have the John Dory, please.

-Can I have the chicken, please? Thank you.

-Chef, check on.

-Thank you.

-OK, new order, table two. Two John Dory, one chicken.

-Yes, chef.

That chicken is going to take 10 minutes.

Your fish is going to take about seven. In the oven, go.

-After that, you can get your spinach ready.

-Yes, chef.

Nathan, good man, come here.

OK, that's your juice. Where's your spinach?

It should be heating up. Where is it, where is it? Come on.

Nathan, quick, quick. Come on.

Theo's getting a little bit more serious. This is the part

where we could all either muck up or do really good,

so this is our chance to shine, really.

-Be generous with the sauce. All over the plates.

-Yes, chef.

-Potatoes...

-That's kind of your main seasoning.

-Right, that's done.

That's a good effort. You've done good. OK, that's your John Dory.

Service, please!

Thank you.

-Looks very nice, doesn't it?

-Mm-hm.

Lovely.

Very, very flavoursome. Nice balance, nice flavour of lemon.

Fish was cooked lovely. Yeah, thoroughly enjoyed it.

-Monika, how long for the chicken on the pass? How long?

-Two minutes.

Cut on a board, not on a tray! Cut on a board! You can't cut on a rack.

That's cowboy stuff.

-Monika, you've cooked the sauce so much it's split.

-Sorry, chef.

-OK, go and get some more mascarpone cream.

-Yes, chef.

OK, don't panic.

OK, that's good.

-That chicken's shrunk. What's happened to it?

-It was actually smaller portions.

Nice amount of sauce around it, on top of the meat.

Don't worry about that so much, do it on top of the chicken.

OK, one chicken, thank you.

-Lovely, thank you. That smells wonderful.

-It does.

You need to serve those customers with a style like he carries.

You need to give them basically that elegance on a plate,

so there's not going to be any complaints.

-Chef, do you have any more sauce for the chicken, please?

-Yep.

Monika, more sauce for chicken. It's obviously a bit dry so we need some more sauce.

Yes, chef.

There you go. Thank you.

OK, new order, three venison. Ellis, three venison on.

Let me see those venison. How cooked are they?

-You just need to flash them, last minute.

-Yes.

-They're going to be really cooked.

I'll use that grill up there, then. Theo's quite strict on service

just because he wants us to do our best. Like, we are here to learn

and he wants to teach us.

Use that sauce, use the whole lot. Some more on there as well.

-It needs it. You've slightly overcooked it.

-Yes.

-I say slightly.

You've overcooked it.

-For you, sir.

-Thank you very much. Looks lovely, yeah.

Beautiful.

I sometimes cook venison myself,

but it's always much drier and not nearly so flavourful as this, I have to admit.

That is excellent, very good.

Compliments from table two all of the chefs that cooked their meals.

Well done.

THEO CLAPS

They were a little bit overcooked, but seeing we got compliments,

they couldn't have been too bad, which is quite good. Very good.

Pastry section, your moment is about to happen so just stay where you are.

After a shaky main course service, it's now time for desserts.

On offer are David's panna cotta,

now served with a passion fruit and elderflower sauce,

and Hayley's orange and rhubarb crumble,

now an Italian orange polenta cake with mascarpone cream.

-How's the cake?

-Yeah, it's browning nicely.

-Oh, my God.

OK, get that convection on. We've got to do it in there.

Convection. Got it.

I'm really worried this cake is just not cooked all the way through.

It needs about another 10 minutes in an oven,

so I'm going to put it in the convector oven.

It's a nice cake but I don't think it's going to be ready in time.

It's going to be a real disaster if we can't get it ready. Quick, blast it.

You took so long to get the cake in the oven,

-that oven was really slow. If you'd really used your nut...

-Yeah.

..you'd have taken that cake out of there and put it in here...

-Put it in there straightaway.

-..rather than me having to tell you.

-What would you like, madam?

-Can I have the orange and polenta cake? Nigel?

I'd like the panna cotta, please, with elderflower.

-Thank you very much.

-Chef! Check on.

-OK, new order. Two panna cotta, one polenta cake.

-Yes, chef.

-Yes, chef.

While Hayley waits for the polenta cake to cook,

David has everything ready.

Well done, David. You're doing a really good job.

You've had everything organised from the beginning of today.

-You're doing terrific. Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-Congratulations.

He just come over to me, he patted me on the back and said well done.

Makes me feel great, somebody of that calibre saying stuff like that to me.

Nicely presented, nice plate.

Yeah, all looks very nice, very appetising.

That's delicious.

-We're going to serve this as a hot dessert.

-OK.

-I was going to serve it as a cold dessert.

-Right.

So let's get a move on. They're all waiting patiently for you.

And then just get some nice juice.

-What, just on the bottom there, all over?

-Yeah, that's fine.

Just dribble on the side there. There you go. That's it.

OK, on the pass, please.

OK, service, please. Two panna cotta, one polenta.

The biscuits obviously go with the panna cotta. Thank you very much.

I'm a little disappointed in myself, that I should've been there,

should've checked it more regularly.

But again, I'm still learning and I'll know for next time.

The polenta cake was absolutely delicious.

The flavour of oranges and rhubarb was fantastic.

Really great.

Lovely. A lot lighter than I thought it was going to be. Beautiful.

OK, guys, service is over now so just clean down the kitchen

and make it really sparkling, please.

-ALL:

-Yes, chef.

Theo now needs to decide which students to take forward.

It hasn't been a particularly pleasant exercise today.

I feel like I've worked pretty hard to get the food out.

Just getting the food out was difficult.

I do like Nathan. Nathan's got more initiative than anyone else.

I was really worried about David on that first task.

But I'm really glad I chose him. He's looking confident.

You could see he enjoyed today. That's a good sign.

With Ellis, there's a bit of ditziness. It's a bit worrying,

but what I've said from day one is that she understands food.

That was a restaurant dish.

I've really had a hard day with Hayley today.

I think she actually genuinely is a good cook.

She just lacks initiative so much.

I can't tell you how frustrating it was.

What worries me about Monika,

I think she can be a little bit slapdash, a bit heavy-handed.

-Monika, can I see you in the corridor, please?

-Yes, chef.

You've done well. But there's been a lot of mistakes.

You should be proud of yourself. You got to this stage.

It's just that I haven't got enough time to really take you

-to the next stage. So thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

You've been brilliant. Give us a kiss.

It was a pleasure meeting you.

You, too. Good luck.

I'm OK. I'm a little bit upset that I went home.

Overall, the experience has been really amazing.

I've realised how good a chef he is

and how much it takes to actually be his protege.

-Well done.

-Thanks, chef.

-You're all through.

You could've given me a lot more today.

I felt like I had to give you guys so much.

The next exercise is going to be a lot tougher than today.

Right, thank you very much. I want a quick word with you.

-So, you guys can go.

-Thank you.

-Thanks for much, chef.

You've got to start being more confident.

-You're naturally a very good cook.

-OK, yeah.

I want to shake you and say, "Come on!"

You've just got to really give it to me next time, OK? All right.

OK, thank you.

Tomorrow night,

the four students come face to face with their competition...

I think Theo's going to be a really good teacher.

-He's got that calmness about him.

-Yeah.

-Mm. That works really well.

-Thank you.

My hand's shaking.

..as Theo's hunt for his protege continues.

No, no, no! I go away for a minute and you almost burn your onions.

-Now I'm nervous.

-Me, too.

-This is a serious piece of cooking.

Big smile.

Yeah. Good job!

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