Episode 9 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 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, 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 the top, you need to work with the best.

-Look at you, you're excited! You're excited!

-I'm really excited!

Hallelujah.

Tom, Theo, and Michel are searching for someone who

they think is a worthy apprentice.

-Happy, Chef Shona?

-I think so!

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

Two things on the go at the same time, come on, come on, come on.

Or even three things on the go! Multitask, come on.

..before they compete against each other

to see who has the best protege.

This week, Theo has returned to his old catering college in Surrey.

Over the last three days, he thinks he's found four students with

the potential to become his protege.

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

-No.

-For fresh pasta, that's very good.

-Thank you.

OK guys, this is where I get my inspiration from.

This place has got the most incredible ingredients

and I get really, really excited about coming here.

Hidden underneath the railway arches of south-east London is Natoora,

supplier of some of the finest Italian produce,

brought here straight from the markets of Verona and Milan.

Theo is hoping his students will be inspired to impress his guests,

Michel and Tom, who are here to get a measure of the competition.

So my philosophy is, find the ingredients and then write the menu.

That's what I want you guys to do today. I want you to just...

Use a bit of initiative, think about the ingredients,

and then we're going to think about the dish afterwards, OK?

We're so lucky, I can't tell you!

-What is this?

-Purple cauliflower? That's awesome.

It's mega-league exciting, there's quite a lot of stuff here I didn't

understand, there were so many, like, eggplants.

-Do you know what these are, guys?

-Chestnuts.

-Chestnuts.

So, we'll take a few of those and then...

Some form of pumpkin.

-Pumpkin.

-Well, it's a squash, yeah.

That's the biggest squash I've ever seen in my life.

An incredible, dark orange flesh, these. They are really good in soup.

-That would break my box.

-Hold on tight.

And then we've got some marvellous stuff, these are the new

season's spiky artichokes, they've got amazing flavour.

Your brain's kind of going everywhere,

about possibilities to do.

I haven't really got a clear plan yet.

There are some amazing pears, where are those pears? Ah, yes.

These are actually quite ripe.

I think something with pears would be good.

-Have you thought of a dish yet?

-Kind of.

-What are you thinking of doing?

-I'm not going to say.

-I'm not going to copy, am I? Hardly.

They've really got to take on my style today.

I mean, I really want to see them creating the food that I would like.

Something that's really going to get Tom and Michel excited.

OK, guys, come on, let's go!

Got your boxes?

-Welcome to your kitchen.

-Oh, wow!

-Oh...

Now, you all thought you were going to back to my restaurant!

-Yeah!

-Oh, my God!

-No chance of that.

-Oh, dear.

So, put your stuff down, I'm going to go and light the wood oven.

Oh, no.

OK, guys, pay attention, please.

Now, you are going to be cooking for two of the best

chefs in Britain today.

Michel Roux Jr, and Tom Kitchin.

OK, it's about my reputation here,

so I really want you to pull out all the stops.

You've got to cook something really good. Let's get on with it.

I think I've got it.

I'm really nervous now,

three of the best chefs in the country tasting our food,

that's pretty nerve-wracking but pretty amazing at the same time.

I can't believe it. That has really excited me.

That's just pushed me even harder now.

It better work out.

After yesterday, I realised actually they had virtually no

experience at all and for me, it is an uphill battle.

But today, I want to see some passion and some good food.

A dining room in an office?

I'm used to the finest surroundings in Mayfair

-when I'm having lunch with you, Michel.

-Ha!

I think Theo is going to be a really good teacher.

-He's got that patience...

-He's got that calmness about him.

-..yeah.

It's Michel Roux, guys, come on.

He's got, like, the best palate in the world, that bloke,

he really does.

Salt and pepper in there? Where's your seasoning?

Where's the salt and pepper? Here, get them in.

So far, Nathan has been one of Theo's favourites.

Today, he has chosen to build a starter around the squash,

roasting it to make a rustic Italian soup with a sofrito base

of carrot, celery, and onion.

-You're going to make the soup in this pan, yes?

-Yeah.

-Right.

Get it on the stove. OK, right, now, onion, where's your onion?

That's got to be cooked slowly, yeah?

So, you can't just do one thing at a time. Multitask.

-You want to be a professional chef, don't you?

-Yes.

-Yeah, you wouldn't stand there doing this, would you?

-No, Chef. Sorry.

OK. So, get on with it.

Hayley's food has also impressed Theo,

but her lack of speed hasn't.

Today, she has chosen to make rabbit stuffed pasta with Italian mushrooms.

-Have you ever cooked rabbit before?

-No, never. So...

Do you have a rabbit?

-No, thankfully.

-Did you have a rabbit?

-No, I've never had a rabbit.

-OK.

-Quite comfortable with cooking it.

-You're comfortable with cooking it.

-But not...

-You're not preparing it.

So, I've just chopped the rabbit up.

I'm going to start sealing this off, you can

bring your celery and carrots over,

we want some thyme, a clove of garlic, and that white wine. OK?

Thyme, a clove of garlic, and white wine. Yep.

OK, guys, I can't do all your cooking,

so you've got to do it yourself. Rabbit's on, start turning it over.

Bring the vegetables over there, please.

When you're sharing a lifetime's worth of knowledge,

you're not just going to give that for free.

You have to see that fire in the belly, the glint in the eye.

If Theo can see that in his young students,

-then good luck to him, but I want to find more in mine!

-Ha!

Some sugar syrup, so some water and sugar...

David's main is inspired by Italian artichokes, which he

will serve with red mullet.

Of all days, this is the one day you really don't want to muck it up.

So you want to kind of get the knife underneath... Yeah.

-And then do the other side.

-Have you never done this before, then?

Yeah, but I just want to make sure I get it right.

-And then you want to slice down there.

-My hand's shaking.

OK, how's your fillet? That's good-ish. Good-ish.

You've taken about 40 minutes to fillet it three... Two fish. OK?

It's too long. It's just too long. You're going to prepare the artichokes.

-Yeah, to add colour.

-Move! Come on!

For dessert, Ellis has chosen to make a tart with the pink comice pears

accompanied by pear slithers marinated in the Italian liqueur, limoncello.

Do you think the combination of limoncello and pear works?

-I love it. I think it goes really well.

-Let me just taste it.

-Mmm! That works really well. Good, I like that.

-Thank you.

-He-he-he!

-Smells good.

-It does smell good.

-They're really concentrating, really focusing.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-They are focusing.

-I can smell pumpkin, you know.

-How are we doing on the soup?

-Not too bad, Chef.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no!

-So, I go away for a minute and you almost burn your onions.

-Is it all right?

Almost. It's not too far.

-I've made silly mistakes today.

-Everyone's made mistakes.

Yeah, but I've made mistakes I shouldn't have been making.

Nathan, just don't make any more.

Nathan's plan is to blend all his ingredients

to make a thick, rustic, Italian soup.

-It's as if it just cracked.

-Oh!

OK, get a spatula or a spoon and we're going to scrape it up.

OK, you just clear that mess up, so that's enough...

I don't want to waste any.

No, no, don't, don't, you don't want to kill someone.

Would only happen to me.

I've let myself down today, really.

I should be doing better at this stage.

Nathan, what are we going to do to save this?

-Add some more water?

-We'll need to add some more, it's very thick.

So, luckily, you've made quite a lot, so you should be OK.

Thanks, Chef.

-Keep the faith. Keep the faith.

-I am.

-Yeah, I nearly lost it a little bit then.

-Yeah, well, don't.

-OK.

Thank you, Chef.

I think I need a bit more concentration.

Mistakes are starting to happen, OK?

So, a bit more concentration, please.

Hayley's forging ahead with her pasta, but it's her first

attempt at making cappelletti.

OK, Hayley, so here we go.

-Round the edges.

-Yep.

-Bring it over.

-Yes, to get the air out.

And then we're going to roll it up like that...

-..and then... Yeah?

-OK.

-OK? You're doing good. You're doing good.

How're you doing? A bit clumsy, but they're OK, they're OK.

They're OK? I'm striving for "they're amazing".

I've only prepared artichokes probably once or twice.

Oh, dear. You've taken away a lot of the heart.

I mean, look at the difference between yours and mine.

If you were working in a kitchen and you turned up to the chef,

what would he be happy with?

-That one.

-Your one, definitely.

Ellis's pear tart is already in the oven.

I think the oven's cooking it a bit unevenly.

-Let's take it out, there's an oven inside we can use.

-Yeah, OK.

It'll be fine.

-Don't open the oven door, just let it cook it as fast as we can, OK?

-Yes.

It's so... I can't tell you how frustrating it is. Fingers crossed.

I'm trying to choose my protege today, one of you is going.

I'm looking at speed, and I'm not looking at someone standing

around looking at me for what to do, I'm looking at you to be cooking.

18-year-old Nathan will be first to serve the chefs.

These are young students.

They have to grasp the philosophy and the style of Theo Randall,

simplicity, Italian, you know, flavour, flavour, flavour.

Is it all right?

The problem is, we had to add so much more water,

we've reduced the flavours of the soup.

After a catalogue of mistakes,

Nathan's struggling with his confidence.

Get it together. OK, let's go, let's go, let's plate.

Plate, plate, plate, plate.

Give it a good stir, a really nice stir. One nice ladle-full.

Bit more, bit more, bit more.

Good, good, good. Now, go and get your Parmesan.

Let's get them sitting up nicely. That's it. OK, ready to go?

-Yes, Chef.

-Happy with that?

-Yes, Chef.

-OK. Service please.

-Thanks, Chef.

-OK?

Oooh.

Hmm.

Nathan's starter is roast squash and smoked pancetta soup

with farro wheat grains, Parmesan shavings, crispy pancetta, and rosemary oil.

-Smells Italian.

-It does, doesn't it?

Mmm.

This strikes me as a piece of grandmother's cooking

in the Piedmont Mountains or something, no?

It's quite a hearty, thick soup.

Well, you know, it's peasants' food in a way, isn't it?

Which really...us chefs, we're really peasants at heart, aren't we?

It's good, it's good.

It's not, it's not really refined.

But, I think Theo is trying to teach them

the true foundations of Italian cuisine.

OK, Nathan, Michel Roux and Tom Kitchin would like a word with you.

-OK, cool. Where are we going?

-Up those stairs. Good luck.

Nathan. Hi. So, how has this week been for you, Nathan?

Well, I've had good days and bad days

and today has definitely been a bad day.

Well, you delivered, you know, that tasty soup.

What you've got to remember as a young chef, we as the customer,

we don't see what's going on behind there.

All we can analyse is what's put in front of us.

And from that, I think speaking for both of us,

we really enjoyed what we had today. Great cooking, Nathan.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you. Cheers.

-Good luck.

-Nice young man, eh?

-Yeah.

I thought today's been a bad day but to hear they really,

really liked my dish has made me a little bit more confident.

You got a smile back for us, Nathan?

-Hayley, let's start cooking the pasta.

-Yes, Chef.

-Pasta in the water.

-Come on, I want to see some service from you, quick.

Bit faster.

-OK, Hayley, have a feel of that. What do you think?

-OK, yeah.

It's still like, it's not chewy but chewy.

-It's still quite firm but is slightly spongy.

-Yeah.

I think that's ready to come out.

Go, in you go. Fast, fast, fast, fast, fast.

Right, now, we need to toss it.

I'll do one, I'll show you one. Like that.

Just toss that, please. That's it. Careful, careful. Don't drop any.

Tossing's really important, because you're going to get starch

out of the pasta, and that starch is going to stick to the pasta

and all those mushrooms are going to season the pasta.

-Make sense?

-Yeah, got it.

That's it, confidence, that's it, confidence.

You're smiling, you're enjoying this. Great. OK, let's plate.

OK, a bit more juice. Fantastic. OK? And then, what do you call?

-Service please.

-No, no, say it loudly.

-Oh.

-Service.

-Service!

That's it.

-Good. It's nice to see your character's really starting to come out.

-Yeah.

-Proud of that.

-Yeah? Good girl.

-Ah-ha!

-Oh-ho!

Hayley's rabbit and vegetable ragu-stuffed cappelletti is served

with pan-seared porcini and black trompette mushrooms,

and topped with Parmesan cheese.

Well done with that! That tastes awesome.

Happy days.

Mmm!

-Punches a bit of flavour there, doesn't it?

-I love the mushrooms.

The mushrooms are delicious. You know what's missing for me?

A little bit of a broth, and the pasta's a wee bit thick for me, too.

I think the pasta's little bit thick, but I think

the flavour of the mushrooms is good, the seasoning is good.

Overall, there's been quite a strong effort there, Michel.

-Afternoon.

-Hello, young lady. Sit down.

-Thank you.

-Big day today.

-Yeah, definitely.

I had a lot to prove today and got it out on time, tasted nice, looks nice.

-Yeah, I'm pretty happy.

-Well, it was very tasty.

If I could be slightly critical, because that's our job,

-I'm afraid, maybe a little bit thick.

-OK.

But the flavour was very, very good,

and I think you should be very proud of that.

-Do you enjoy cooking Italian food?

-Yeah.

In terms of experience of cooking it,

I haven't really had much experience, but over the past couple

of days I've really got a sense of Theo's style and Italian cooking.

-Thank you, Hayley.

-Thanks very much. Well done.

-Thank you very much. Bye.

-How'd it go? You're smiling.

-Yeah, it was really good.

-Really? They liked it?

-Overall, they were happy. Yeah, I'm happy.

-Good. Good. You're happy.

-Definitely.

-Big smile?

-Yeah.

-Good for you.

Good job!

David is up next, with the tricky task of cooking his mullet

in an unpredictable wood oven.

Fish. It's seconds between good and average.

I want to really impress.

I'm feeling really, really happy now because I know I'm so close

and it's looking and smelling really, really nice.

You don't want to overcook that mullet. You tell me.

-Yeah, I'd say that fish is done.

-Let's go.

-It's got to look really elegant.

-Yeah.

But kind of rustic, it's come from a wood oven.

Service!

-Ahhh!

-Mmm.

For his main course,

David has served red mullet roasted in a wood oven,

with globe artichokes, potatoes,

white wine, garlic, green olives, and capers.

-Oh!

-Mmm! Michel!

-Oh boy, that's good.

These artichokes are beautiful.

-Yeah, they're not British artichokes, are they?

-I don't think so.

And the red mullet.

It's not overcooked and it's got a slight smoky, woody flavour,

-and that's special. That shows a lot of skill.

-Now I'm nervous.

This is a serious piece of cooking.

Whoever this person is, this has to be a contender.

-OK, big man, they're ready for you now. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

-Come in, have a seat.

-David. How you doing?

-I'm... Quite nervous, really.

Do you know what, David? I just want to shake your hand.

-Because that was absolutely fantastic.

-Thank you.

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

-You're on that high, happy cloud now, aren't you?

-Adrenaline rush.

Enjoy it! This is what cooking is all about, it's about pouring

your heart into the dish and your customers being happy.

After that, job done.

-Well, you've got two happy customers here, I can tell you.

-Very happy.

That's what I was aiming for.

I think you can be very proud of yourself.

-Thank you. Thank you.

-Well done, Chef.

I'm overjoyed, really, because I just can't believe it.

It's like a dream come true, them saying stuff like that about my food.

-I like him.

-I like him a lot. Is he not Scottish?

He's got a hint of a Scottish accent, no?

Best compliments I've ever had.

I'm just over the moon.

Next up is Ellis, whose pear tart is still cooking in the oven.

I'm really, really annoyed. I'm so frustrated.

I honestly, like, I've tried really hard today.

Ellis!

Yep!

Take it out, we haven't got time.

-It's got a nice texture.

-Let's hope.

-OK.

You've got a tough judge there, you've got Michel Roux Jr,

who's, uh, a bit of an expert on pastry.

Yeah.

One side's caught a bit,

but we're just going to serve the other side.

They won't know.

OK. Umm...

-Then a drizzle of that.

-Should I use that?

-Oh, fine. Very organised.

-OK.

-There we go.

-You ready?

-Service please!

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-Frustrated, but happy.

-Frustrated?

-Yes.

-Oh, boy.

-Oh!

Ellis has served her pear and frangipane tart

with pear marinated in limoncello liqueur and a quenelle of lemon zest

and limoncello cream, topped with pistachio croquant.

Mmm-hmm.

The almond filling is beautifully moist,

but not much of an almond flavour.

I don't get almond, but why do get is something very citrus-y...and alcoholic.

Yeah, I'm not sure that works.

It's a lovely pear tart though.

Well poached pears, a good pastry, very, very short and crumbly,

-almost as good as tarte poire bourdaloue.

-Ha-ha!

This French-Italian thing is going to happen

and I'm just going to sit back and relax.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Have a seat.

Well, I think we've got very happy Frenchman there.

-To make him happy, I think you've done pretty well.

-Really?

Have you cooked pastry before?

Now, and I'm more of a main kitchen kind of...

I'm not really a pastry girl.

Because the skills required to get that pear tart,

especially in a field kitchen, are immense.

So, well done.

-Very, very happy. Lovely meeting you.

-Well done, Ellis.

-Thank you. Cheers.

Bye.

-I'm so happy.

-I know exactly how you feel.

-Like, when, for him to say that was just...

-You saved it.

-I really did.

So happy.

-I'm glad I'm not making the choice.

-Ah-ha! He's got to lose one today.

-Yep.

I thought they all did very well today.

I think some dishes were better than others.

Dave has got a lot going for him.

The last two days, he's much more relaxed,

and Tom and Michel absolutely loved his dish.

It was a really nice plate of food.

Nathan's got a great character.

He's a bit cheeky, which I quite like.

What kind of upset me today was that he made a mistake

and he sort of sulked.

That attitude that I thought was so strong suddenly just went out the window.

I was really pleased for Hayley.

She just seems much more confident, much happier,

and her cappelletti, not a single one of them split.

And her general attitude was excellent.

What I liked about Ellis today was the fact that she was really

thinking about food. And she came up with some really good ideas.

She showed initiative, she showed more initiative than anyone today.

Ultimately, Theo is only looking for one protege

and must now choose which one of his four students to send home.

It is a really difficult decision because they've all stepped up their game.

I have to dig deeper here and think about what was the one thing

today they did wrong and it's not really the food.

-Nathan, can you come and see me please?

-Yeah, sure.

-Today's been a tough day.

-It's been a bad day.

-It's a real shame.

I'm going to have to let you go.

You made a few mistakes today, a few too many,

and you went really flat, and I can't have that.

I think you can learn from this experience

and you can go on and do some great things.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Cheers.

-Well done.

-Well done.

-See you later.

-See you later, mate.

I'm devastated, but I kind of expected it for the mistake.

It's not going to knock me. I'm going to keep on trying, keep on fighting.

This is what I want to be, so, that's what I'll keep doing.

So relieved.

I actually can't believe it, to have got this far is crazy.

I never thought it would happen to me.

I'm really happy that I got through.

With every day the determination just grows.

I've got faith in myself. I believe I can do it.

I'm really happy. I can't stop smiling.

We're all just going to push from now.

Tomorrow one's going to go out, and then the final two.

My main objective today was to impress Tom and Michel,

and I think we did.

Tomorrow night, Theo's hunt for his protege continues

when he opens the doors to his central London restaurant.

This food is not complicated, but they have to get it right.

Come on...

Ellis, how's your wood oven?

I went to Guides and everything and I still can't make a fire.

Pretty damn good. If one of my chefs had done that, I'd be actually pretty pleased.

Oh, thank you.

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