Galton Blackiston Yes Chef

Four of the best chefs in Britain

are on the hunt for their perfect partner

because, for the first time ever, amateur home cooks

will be paired with the best in the business

for the cooking experience of a lifetime.

THEY CHEER

Each day, a different Michelin-starred chef

will choose their perfect partner from four talented home cooks.

She's just putting it in the pan and frying it. Yeah, yeah.

Then, in the Friday final, all four pairs will go head-to-head

to cook for culinary royalty Pierre Koffmann.

What I look for for a perfect dish is to keep it simple and tasty.

For the chefs, their professional pride is at stake.

Bring in the home cooks!

For the home cooks, it will be the ultimate test.

She's stirring the mousse! Why would you do that?!

But who will win?

This is Yes Chef.

Welcome to Yes Chef.

Let's meet today's four home cooks.

First, it's Matt Agass.

He's from Cheshire and runs his own frozen-yoghurt business.

The kind of cook I am - flamboyant, out there, risky.

I'll plate it last second.

I want to be there Friday, with that Michelin-starred chef.

I'll give it everything,

even if it means nicking someone else's ingredients.

Next is Kim McCrystal, a catering assistant from Kilmarnock.

I'm a messy cook, I'm an enthusiastic cook,

but I love cooking.

I'm best at soup,

a big bowl of granny's soups that you get in my kitchen.

I wouldn't LIKE to win, because I know I'm GOING to win.

Joe Bailey runs a theatre school in Stoke-on-Trent.

I like to be clean when I'm working, but really creative,

throw a lot of things in - don't necessarily have a plan

and I refine it as I'm going.

And finally, Debbie Smith

is a pharmaceutical sales rep from Wakefield.

I really do like to get my ideas from different places.

I love doing just cooking where it's just rustic

and it just tastes really good.

The look of the food is not my strength.

So, we have our four home cooks.

All we need now is our chef.

It's Galton Blackiston.

Galton Blackiston is owner and chef patron

of Morston Hall in Norfolk.

We've got this sirloin on this weekend.

He's a huge champion of local produce,

which he uses to create classical dishes of the highest quality.

Presentation has to look good,

but what it tastes like is the most important thing.

Aged just 17, he set up his own market stall,

Galton's Goodies, serving cakes and biscuits.

A career in the kitchen followed, which saw him travel the globe

before returning to his beloved Norfolk.

I'm quite a calm character in the kitchen,

but when it's time to be serious, I'm deadly serious.

He's held a Michelin star for an incredible 17 years

and is no stranger when it comes to competition.

He knows exactly what it takes to stay at the top of the game.

I want to choose somebody who's got that competitive spirit about them,

otherwise what's the point?

I'm going to smash it.

Welcome, Galton. It's so good to have you here.

Yeah, I'm delighted to be here.

So, today is about you finding

your perfect partner for the Friday final,

where you'll be going head-to-head with three of your other peers.

How do you feel about that?

I'm naturally competitive, so I want to win.

What kind of thing will you be looking for, Galton?

Visually, it needs to look neat.

I like seasonal ingredients.

I don't like too much going on on a plate.

I want to be able to taste the individual flavours.

I want you to cook confidently, cook well and enjoy it.

Let's get on with it. This is round one, it's Dish Of The Day.

Now, four home cooks, you're going to prepare one dish

that you believe will set you apart from the rest.

But you have to remember, after this round, guys,

one of you will be going home.

Whatever you're preparing, make it count.

So, are you with me, guys?

ALL: Yes, Chef!

So, our cooks are off.

They just have 45 minutes to make their favourite dish for Galton,

and it's imperative they impress him because, after this round,

one person will be leaving the competition

and Matt's feeling confident it won't be him.

Well, famous last words,

but nothing is going to plan at the minute.

I'll tell you at the end!

Hello, Matt. Hello. How are we getting on?

Good, good. Tell me about the dish.

Right, so I've got a lovely bit of rump of lamb

with a lovely rosemary and parsley crumb, we've got a celeriac cream,

paired with a rosti and chanterelle mushrooms.

Pan-fried, lovely knob of butter, some pepper,

finish up with the broad beans, and that's my garnish.

Nice crispy, crispy edge.

Fairly classical cooking going on here.

Yeah. I mean... I don't mind that.

I don't mind that. It pushes me to the 45, trust me!

So, you've got a celeriac puree going on there, yeah?

Yeah. A little tip.

Obviously, you've cut that into fairly large chunks.

Yeah. Much smaller, much finer will make it cook quicker,

give you a bit more time.

It's a simple thing. Yeah.

But that will take twice as long to cook than if I was going to do it.

Brilliant, thanks. Time is money. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Hi, Kim. Hi. This one interests me.

OK. There's a lot going on here. Yeah.

I'm interested to see how you're going to bring this one together.

So you're obviously using the chicken thighs.

Yeah. Much better flavour.

Tell me your dish, first. This is called African chicken.

Yeah. It's kind of sweet and spicy at the same time.

I've got ginger, garlic, I've got spices, tomatoes, apricots, jam.

It will all work out. It will be delicious.

Yeah. Obviously, these are going to take longest to cook.

Yeah. And ideally, would you marinate them for longer?

Overnight. I'd like to do it overnight, get the flavour in.

Yeah. Infuse it. But it will still be just as good.

Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Yes, just make sure you cook the chicken thighs.

Ah! What have you got going on in there?

Spicy rice. Spicy rice!

Yeah. I love your Scottish accent!

THEY LAUGH

I mean, it looked a lot going on, but actually...

Quite a simple dish, no. ..there isn't.

No. So, I can see how this really appeals at home.

Yeah, yeah. And are you pushed for time?

Are you, like...? Plenty of time.

I can't offer you any words of wisdom here!

You're all organised!

Move on! Yes, let's move on.

Good luck.

Hi, Joe. Hello.

Hello, my man. You all right?

What are you doing today?

I'm going to do a... It's kind of a baked dish,

so it's going to be salmon with the skin on,

which I'll season and then it'll kind of be grilled,

so it will crisp up the skin, with shell-on tiger prawns

and that's marinated in garlic, chilli, lemon and anchovy oil.

I'm making a home-made salsa verde

and then that will coat... new potatoes,

light flavours but three different tastes.

It does seem a lot going on there, Joe, I must admit.

That's not detrimental.

I'm just saying

that you particularly have got a bit to do there.

One thing I will say... Salmon,

I tend to either pan fry it or even cook it very, very low.

Very low, because it's so easy to overcook.

Yes. And if you can get a little translucency about that salmon,

so much the better. Brilliant.

So timings would be great. Yes! Crack on!

Hi, Debbie. Hello, Debbie.

Hello. How are you? I'm all right, thank you.

You all right? Anyway, tell me what are you doing today.

I'm making you a herb-crusted rack of lamb... Mm-hm.

..a red-wine jus reduction.

Cool. Garlic mashed potatoes and spring greens.

Oh, right. Lamb, yeah. So you've got the... Is that crispy cabbage?

Spring greens, yeah, so I'm going to do that two ways,

so I'm going to wilt the spring cabbage down

and I'm also going to make a crispy topping as well.

Nice, nice. Hopefully!

Yeah, no, I'm happy with that. And this is obviously a mash, is it?

It is a mash coming, yeah.

Interesting. I just need to get on with my crust.

So shall we get out of the way? Yeah! "Get out the way!"

No, I like it. Fairly traditional. In the nicest possible way!

I want to stand there and yack to you!

Yack to me later. Go on! Clear off! You sound like my mum.

Come on, come on. I'm going. No, you sound like my wife!

So, is there anyone that's caught your eye from the off?

Matthew. I like his enthusiasm.

He's very tidy. I think he is out to impress.

I'm starting to feel the pressure a little bit.

To be honest, it's just down to my lamb.

The biggest thing about cooking the lamb,

it mustn't be overcooked and it mustn't be raw.

Yeah. So, that's the skill.

Yeah. I like Debbie.

It'll be interesting to see how that one turns out

and then, Joe, well...

I'll be amazed if I like that.

Really? God, yeah!

Cos I can't see it working, everything together?

The asparagus, the prawns, the salmon, all in one thing?

Well, it concerns me.

Kim - that could possibly go too far the other way.

Right. It's so simple!

What, you mean, as in, like, the flavour is too much?

Chicken and rice. And then... That's it? Yeah. OK.

The rice is cooked. Final couple of minutes for the chicken

and then I'll be ready to plate up.

The chicken thighs, well,

we all know that if you haven't cooked the chicken thighs,

I'm not eating it!

You can! I'm not eating it.

If you're not eating it, I'm not eating it!

So, as time ticks on,

Joe adds pancetta to his ever-increasing list of ingredients.

DEBBIE: It's been in for 14 minutes.

That's very rare. It's very pink in the middle.

So if it's like that, that's medium.

If it's like that... That's well...

..that's on the rare side. Oh, really?

Guys, you only have ten minutes left.

Ten minutes?! Yeah.

Ten.

So, whilst everyone is racing to get things finished on time,

Kim is just adding the final touches to her African chicken.

You work quick! It's a quick dish.

You don't want to overcook the chicken.

You're going to lose the flavour if I keep it on. OK.

And with all the worry of undercooking the lamb,

Debbie has burnt her spring greens to a crisp

but there's no time to do anything about it.

Two minutes to go now.

You really need to get the plates out.

I think this should be all right. I'm going to plate it last second.

30 seconds to go and, remember,

if it's not on the plate, it can't be judged.

Matt! Plate! Out!

SHEREE LAUGHS You're making me more nervous here!

Five, four, three...

Come on, Matt. ..two,

one. Step away from your plates!

You've done all you can.

First to be judged is Matt with his Dish Of The Day -

herb-crusted roast rump of lamb with a potato rosti, creamed celeriac,

mushrooms, broad beans, a pancetta crumb and lamb jus.

Hi, Matt. Do you want to pour your sauce?

Ladies first. Oh, bless you.

First things, I will say, your timing was spot-on.

You got it on that plate with about seconds to go and I like that.

Yeah. I like that. Push it.

Presentation, very neat.

I like all this.

One major thing, why didn't you slice that rump again,

rather than one big old wedge of lamb?

The reason being cos I knew my rosti size,

so I wanted it to sit one nice piece in the middle of it.

If you had just gone two slices...

Two slices. Two slices across there. Just a neater finish.

Apart from that... Next round. Next round.

THEY LAUGH I'm only joking, only joking!

I like your confidence, I did say that!

Nice rosti.

The lamb's tender. Very tender. Yeah.

Taste-wise, that's the most important thing... Yeah.

..I could eat that. Brilliant.

If you'd like to go back to the waiting room...

Thank you. Thanks, Chef.

Well done, Matt. Creep!

SHEREE LAUGHS

All right, guys? How did you get on? All OK? Ooh! It's tough. Is it?

Try it, see what do you think.

Overall, happy.

I'll be happy if I get through to the next round.

Nice herbs. Good. Gorgeous.

I want to have a bit more of your meat.

I totally get what you're saying.

It should have been sliced and I think, once you said that,

I could tell he was slightly disappointed with himself.

Yeah, but his work surfaces were good, tidy

and he got that piece of meat on the plate...

Yeah. ..when he should do.

It wasn't there ten minutes before.

Next to be judged is Kim, with her Dish Of The Day -

African chicken thighs with ginger, red peppers and apricots,

accompanied with a spiced rice.

Wow! So...! Are you happy with the way it went today?

Yes, really happy.

Full of flavours and...

Shall we tuck in? Yeah. Go for it. Go for it.

So, you were finished quite early?

Yeah. Yeah. I think, with chicken,

if you overcook it, you've ruined it.

But these little thighs almost lend themselves

to lovely slow, long cooking, don't they? Yeah.

But I can see it's cooked... and that's a start!

And that spicy rice... No, I like that kick.

Yeah. I really do. It has got a good kick.

But I would have browned the chicken. Mm-hm.

I would have given a lot more sauce, a lot more sauce,

and I think a dish like this needs sauce with it. Yeah. Um...

But apart from that, with the ingredients that you've got,

there's not a lot more you can do.

Right. It's a difficult one to show on a plate in an individual serving.

Yeah. Brilliant. Thank you. Well, thank you so much.

Any feedback from a chef like that is fantastic.

I have to work on how it looks, but taste-wise, perfect.

It was quite dry. Yeah.

But maybe it's nerves sometimes.

That's why I kept trying to say about a sauce.

Time for Joe with his Dish Of The Day -

baked fillet of salmon and tiger prawns,

with asparagus, cherry tomatoes, lemon, chilli and pancetta,

served with new potatoes and a fresh mint salad with a balsamic dressing.

There you go. Lovely!

Well, let's tuck in. Go for it.

Now, then, salmon...

You wanted people to eat that, didn't you?

Yes. I agree with cooking it with the skin on,

cos it helps keep the salmon moist.

Difficult one to get the skin crisp. Yes, yes.

Yeah, it needs to be a bit crispier.

So, would you rather a crispier skin?

I would, yes. Cos I won't eat that skin.

It's a very interesting dish, with a lot of flavours going on there.

By putting it all together,

I was trying to get the flavours across everything.

So, would you not have all these components on the plate?

No. What would you take off?

I think just a nice salad to go with the salmon and the prawns

would have been nice. The new potatoes with salsa verde...

New potatoes should stand out on its own as a lovely new potato.

I think there's an awful lot going on.

Don't get me wrong, it's not fighting with each other too much,

but I think there's too much going on on the plate.

Thank you very much, Joe.

It's really hard to go in

and put your food in front of a Michelin-starred chef

and keep a smile on your face and hope for the best.

But no, it was really good to hear the comments.

There was a bit too much on the plate.

"I need a potato, I need this, I need that."

Yes, that's right. That's a good... Over-thinking.

But it wasn't cooked bad, was it? No, it wasn't. No, no.

Finally, it's Debbie with her Dish Of The Day -

a herb-crusted rack of lamb with tarragon and parsley,

spring cabbage, garlic mashed potato and a red-wine jus.

Hi, Debbie. Lovely.

OK, well, let's tuck in.

First impressions, your presentation,

first and foremost, is good. Thank you. OK.

Let's hope the taste's there.

It's lovely and tender.

Your potato isn't lumpy.

The lamb is cooked well. This sauce, you could have had more sauce.

The cabbage underneath works.

Herb crust. What's that on there?

What is that?! LAUGHING: Are you going to confess?

You were meant to have some crispy spring cabbage.

Oh, yes! What happened to the crispy spring cabbage?

It got very crispy.

I knew there was something wrong with this dish.

She thought she got away with it, actually!

You're a bit like a rough diamond at the moment.

I like diamonds.

THEY LAUGH

There were three presentable plates of food there

and one which wasn't so presentable. OK.

To get through and cook with Galton is... It would be an honour.

Maybe I could give him a few tips, you never know.

The food the guys have put out today is phenomenal.

It was a hard competition but somebody's got to win it.

I think it's really hard to call.

I'd really like to think I could get through.

The competition has been really high, so fingers crossed.

So, do you think you've made your decision

on who you're going to send home?

I have definitely made my decision.

OK, well, let's go and tell them the news. Yeah.

A very big well-done to all of you, but, unfortunately,

only three of you can go through to the next round.

You've all done really, really well,

but I have come to a decision

and I am going to send home...

..Kim.

Did you enjoy your day?

No, it was a great day. A great day. Well, very well done to you.

Thank you. I'm gutted I'm going home so early, but somebody had to go.

I think it was the presentation of the food.

It was basically down to whose looked better on the plate.

So, that leaves three home cooks.

They are Matt from Cheshire,

Joe from Stoke-on-Trent

and Debbie from Wakefield.

Round two - it's the Chef's Challenge.

In this challenge, Galton has devised a skills test

to determine which one of our home cooks has what it takes.

So, Galton, what are you going to make?

Right, guys, we're going to do a classic beurre blanc, butter sauce.

OK. It's a simple sauce, but get it wrong, you split it. Oooh...

Right, let's do it. Two pans and two pans only.

It's about four tablespoons of white wine.

Two tablespoons of lemon juice.

White-wine vinegar.

Peppercorns and a shallot.

It's a sauce that you can make in advance,

but you can't put it in the fridge and keep it

because it splits when you reheat it.

Then we get it on a heat.

What would this sauce go with?

This sauce, particularly, would go well with fish - white fish.

Having said that, you can break the rules and go with chicken

or something like that if you wanted to.

We want to reduce that.

You've got to get this reduction right.

If you don't reduce it enough, it's too vinegary or too citrusy.

This is the important bit.

You want it almost like a syrup.

Now we're getting close.

I think you're not far off there.

We'll let it come down to, again, about one tablespoon

and then we'll start whisking in the butter.

Start off with a little bit at a time.

Continuously whisking.

Can you see it starting to emulsify?

Doesn't look split, does it? No.

If you do split your beurre blanc,

you can bring it back by the addition of a little bit of cream.

But that will serve eight people.

You don't want to have the plate swimming with the sauce.

So it's just like a drizzle? It's a drizzle.

I would suggest that you strain it.

And there we are.

Now, then, the test is that it SHOULD...

coat the back of a spoon,

like so.

Like a custard. I think you'll find that does that quite nicely.

We need to season it just before you're about to serve it.

But that is a classic beurre blanc.

Fantastic.

The lemon is... Mmm!

Delicious.

That is absolutely gorgeous!

So, are we going to do it? ALL: Yes, Chef!

So, Galton's beurre blanc looks simple enough to make,

but only if our cooks can follow his instructions closely,

otherwise their sauces could split.

For Joe, the shallots are adding extra pressure.

JOE SNIFFLES

I didn't realise I was going to reduce you to tears at this stage.

I'm really sensitive to onions, really sensitive.

You really are, aren't you? Yeah.

The home cooks have no notes,

so must replicate the recipe from memory alone

and Galton is watching their every move.

I'm just watching the reduction time. That's the focused look.

You think you're taking it all in, you think it's stored there

and then suddenly everything's in front of you and it's like...

But some are more confident than others.

I don't want to jinx myself but I got through the first stage

without splitting it, so hopefully we'll get a good sauce.

And it's not just the taste Galton's interested in,

the consistency of the sauce is also crucial.

How's the whisking going? It's hard work!

I think this is the reason I don't make this one at home very often!

I can see your hand shaking. I know! I know!

Just take a deep breath. You'll be fine. I know, remember to breathe.

It's not reducing to the amount that Galton had it.

Ooh! MATT: I'm happy with my thickness. Just got to season it up.

It's all in the taste. Yes, it is.

You can't get away with it looking pretty, can you, this one? No.

So, Matt is the first to strain his sauce,

closely followed by a rather shaky Joe

and finally a hesitant Debbie.

Two minutes, guys. Two minutes to go.

Oh! I'm slopping.

Right, that's it, guys.

Step away from your dishes.

You've done all you can.

You go first, you're the master.

This is Matt.

It all looks great.

Just a slight touch of under-seasoning.

Two.

Joe, it's a good end result.

A LITTLE bit too much vinegar.

OK. A little bit.

Debbie, slightly under-seasoned.

Ohh...

I like this one. DEBBIE GASPS

There's not a lot between these two at all.

I'm going to choose this one.

Your beurre blanc was superb, Joe, but your main course...

It was just based on that...

Purely fractions.

Joe, you've done so well, so well.

You should be very proud of yourself. Thank you so much.

It was so close but it's a competition,

and it always comes down to that.

I'm really proud of myself but obviously disappointed

because I'm not to go through to the next round.

So, that leaves two cooks.

They are Matt, who owns his own frozen-yoghurt company

and Debbie, who's a pharmaceutical sales rep.

OK, so it's time for our third and final round, the Chef's Special.

Our two finalists will be given a set of ingredients

to one of Galton's signature dishes.

The challenge is, guys,

to see what you two can make from the exact same ingredients.

You'll get to see what Galton makes later on.

So, for you at home, let's reveal today's ingredients.

Galton has chosen...

loin of Texel lamb,

parsley, some stock,

butternut squash,

white wine, a potato,

capers, fennel seeds,

artichoke, cherry tomatoes,

butter, garlic, mint,

balsamic vinegar, chives

and brown sugar.

So, I want you guys to give me confident, uncomplicated cooking

with a smile on your face.

Are you ready for this?

BOTH: Yes, Chef! Go for it. Get cooking.

Ooh! Ooh! GALTON CHUCKLES

What are you thinking, Matt? That would be telling!

Sugar, balsamic...

Right, what am I thinking?

I have to say, at this point,

I should leave you with your thoughts, guys.

Yeah, OK.

So, the cooks are off

and this is the first time they've seen these ingredients.

Whilst Debbie tries to sniff hers out,

Matt makes a start on his veg.

Hi, Matt. Hello. How are we getting on?

I'm going to do a butternut and potato galette.

I'll try and get some kind of gravy, just with the basic stock.

I'm probably not going to use the fennel or capers.

Just don't see it going with that type of meat.

Take the artichoke down and puree it.

How are you feeling, nerve-wise?

Nerves... Yeah, I think they're not too bad.

It's just getting it all together. Well, good luck. Thank you.

Hi, Debbie. Hello, there.

How are we getting on?

Erm...

Hmmm!

We'll see.

I have something in my head... OK. Mm-hm.

..but we'll just see how it turns out, I think.

Did you manage to identify all the ingredients?

I did identify all the ingredients,

but I've never cooked with an artichoke before.

That's a bit of an experiment straight off the bat.

I'm going to do some butternut squash puree and roast potatoes.

I'm just going to take a piece of that off and pan fry it

and just finish it off in the oven,

maybe put some of the fennel seeds around it

and then just serve it medium.

Cool. Medium-rare. Nice.

Cool. Yeah. All right, we'll let you get on.

OK. Good luck. Thank you.

Debbie's playing it safe,

but if we're looking for a little bit of innovation...

then it's Matt just edging ahead at the moment.

I would have liked them to have used a few more ingredients.

There's a lot which have been discarded,

but I'm pleased that they're using the artichoke.

It's a lot of effort, this artichoke.

You're only going to get a tiny bit out of it as well. I know!

Do they both know that they're cooking lamb out there?

I don't know! Cos they haven't mentioned it, have they?

Is it one didn't want to say in case the other one didn't know?

It's all going to come down to how that meat is cooked.

It's a piece of meat which can very easily be overcooked

and very easily be undercooked. Yeah. I want it medium-rare.

So, just when they were getting secret praise

for using the artichoke, Debbie decides to discard hers.

WHISPERS: A quick question, do you know what that meat is?

Lamb.

Just checking. It's a big piece there.

Where are we at? Have you changed your mind on anything?

I have. Oh, have you?

I've taken the artichoke out of the mixture.

Oh, no! Is that because you're not sure what to do with it?

I'm not sure what to do with it. Fair enough.

It's the amount of time that I'm going to spend on it.

Just stick to what you know. Yeah. OK.

Do you know what this is?

Well, I think that's beef stock, so I was going with beef.

OK.

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

I'll know when I taste it! Yeah! THEY LAUGH

Matt has said he thinks it's lamb

and Debbie has said beef. Oh!

I would have thought you might have just taken

a little sliver off and pan fried it just to taste it and...

If you were really unsure. Yeah.

OK. Bless her! She's also discarded the artichoke.

Oh, that's the one thing I wanted them to do!

That's disappointing. That artichoke was almost as important as the lamb.

She's cooked it.

Just put it in the pan and fry it!

Yeah.

Just do something!

Easy for a Michelin-starred chef to say,

but using unfamiliar ingredients is knocking Debbie's confidence.

I think I've just got myself into a flap.

Every time you think of something, you think, "I'll put that with it,"

it's not there.

So I think just being very constrained...

I'm finding it really tough.

Then you start doubting yourself.

For Debbie, it goes from bad to worse.

I just cut myself.

This isn't going well for me!

DEBBIE SIGHS

How's it going? Where are we at? I'm feeling a bit better.

I'm happy with my meat. I'm happy with my sauce.

And I have roast potatoes in, so it's OK.

Is your finger OK? That's fine. Aw!

Absolutely fine. Just adds to the drama.

Exactly! She's still smiling.

Absolutely! You can't ask for anything more, can you?

It's a plate of food, isn't it?

Yes. Exactly. Yes, exactly.

So don't stress out. That's me, I go down and then I come back up.

Good on you. Good on you.

DEBBIE SIGHS Right!

Meanwhile, Matt's staying focused.

I had a sneaky look at what Debbie's doing,

but I've got to keep to my own game.

I don't want to change my plan now.

Right, guys, you have two minutes, so start plating up.

Literally one more minute.

That's it. Time is up.

Step away from your plates.

So, our cooks have done all they can.

Now it's time to taste.

First, it's Matt.

He's made roasted lamb

with butternut squash and a potato galette,

artichoke puree and butternut squash crisps.

Oh, lovely. Are you happy with the way it went?

Overall, I'm pretty happy, just hope it tastes good for you.

OK, well, let's have a go. Go for it.

I think you've done it really well.

Thank you. I'm going to say that...

Em...

Good seasoning on the lamb.

You've made a big effort with the artichoke.

It's definitely worked.

It's a shame you didn't have a little bit more,

but, overall, you can be very happy with that.

Thank you. That's good!

Well done. Well done.

I mean, Galton's reaction is, like, amazing.

I mean, a Michelin-starred chef... So, happy.

He's very confident. Yeah, you've got to have confidence

when you're cooking, otherwise...

Debbie would worry me at the moment.

If she starts panicking then I'll start panicking.

It'll be a kitchen nightmare! SHEREE LAUGHS

Next into the tasting room is Debbie.

She's made roasted lamb basted in butter and fennel seeds

with a caper sauce, accompanied with butternut squash and parsley

and roast potatoes.

Here we go. Brilliant. Wow.

How did you find it?

Well, once I figured out it wasn't beef and it was lamb...!

THEY ALL LAUGH

That's good and honest! When did you discover that?

After I started searing it in the pan

and the aromas that were coming off,

I figured out, oh, it's not what I thought it was.

But we have some food. Yes, we do!

And a nice plate of food! You should be proud of yourself.

Go for it. OK.

That's tasty.

It's really tasty.

Wow! It is. Really? Mm!

It is tasty. Yeah, it's a good effort.

A really good effort.

It's simple. One big thing for me, Debbie,

you took the trouble to peel that artichoke.

I would have liked you to have served it.

I know... I know you weren't confident about it

but that would have really, really been impressive for me.

But what you have put on a plate is very, very tasty.

Yeah, it is. Thank you very much.

Well done. Thank you.

Wow, that was tough.

Really, really tough.

It was a whole rollercoaster of emotions

but I'm really pleased with the plate of food that I've delivered.

So, with the final challenge complete,

it's just left for Galton to decide between our two final home cooks.

It was a completely different taste.

Yes, it was, it was.

Even though it was some of the same ingredients,

it was completely different. I am disappointed about the artichoke.

I know I keep going on about it.

But what she's presented there

is a very serviceable plate of food with no thrills or spills.

Debbie, through most of that exercise,

was a little bit flustered. Yeah.

I don't think it helped with Matt being...whoa, confident! Yeah.

But before Galton announces the winner,

it's time to reveal what he makes with those ingredients.

Over to you, Chef.

Right, start off with a fennel and parsley butter.

Just put these into a dry frying pan.

Whilst I'm waiting for that to come up,

I'll just take the amount of lamb that I think I need.

Obviously, this is the loin of lamb, completely trimmed of any fat.

Chop a few chives.

Nothing too clever with this

because it's all going into a food processor.

As I get older, you see,

these pieces of equipment I find much more useful!

You can smell that fennel, can't you? Yeah, gorgeous.

That's all it needs. You can smell it.

Perfect. Into here

then...chives go into there.

Capers go into there.

Parsley, lots of.

And...copious amounts of butter.

Let's go. Why didn't I think of that?

You did do a butter.

The capers threw you both...

Well, not so much you.

I did use the capers, but I'm really interested in doing it this way.

I think we're both just worried this is the next challenge!

THEY LAUGH Now the pressure's on me!

Perfect.

We do quite a lot of these butters at work.

So, I take a rolling pin...

and roll it fairly thinly,

about the length of your piece of lamb.

You use these butters on lots of different meats, then?

Yeah, sometimes fish.

This would work quite nicely with fish, actually.

So, that will now go into a freezer.

Now, the artichoke.

Both of you did everything right, as far as I saw.

It's a time-consuming job for what you get.

When you are cooking these, do it in this acidic water.

That's lemon juice.

Why is that? Because they brown and discolour very quickly.

You can see it starting to go brown on me already.

What I tend to do is just brush it with a little bit of lemon juice

and then straight into acidic water.

I'd probably take about ten minutes to cook that,

then you take the middle choke of it out

and you have a nice little artichoke, like so.

All right? Thanks, thank you.

Once you've cooked the artichoke and you're happy that it's cooked,

I've then blitzed it and made a very fine puree.

Do you have to pass it through...?

Yeah, everything I do gets passed through a sieve.

This is a lamb jus

with a touch of white wine.

OK. You can see a nice glaze on there.

I tend to add it just at the final throws of things,

just to have a little bit of the taste of the white-wine jus.

OK?

Now, butternut squash.

Good efforts from both of you with your butternut squash.

About half an inch in thickness

and take this and... Ah!

Let's get one of those.

Like so. OK?

What do I talk about now?

Mint. Both of you didn't use your mint.

No, we didn't use the mint. I forgot the herbs were in front of me.

Yeah, I know. Your mind is befuddled by everything that goes on.

I'll put a little bit of mint in the jus to start off with, as well.

The rest of it, I've made into something very cheffy.

Oh, wow! This is made with white-wine vinegar,

lots of mint, little bit of sugar.

I swirl it round rapeseed oil in a little squeezy bottle

and produce these little pearls of mint jelly. Wow!

And they're very minty.

OK, when that butter melts, we then put the butternut squash in.

I'm looking for this to give a colour on it.

I could do with a little bit of water,

once I've got a colour, to then cook the butternut squash, all right?

What I did with my potato -

I've cooked it in salted water and then put it in the freezer.

Why do you put it in the freezer?

Because moisture is then absorbed in the potato

and we then fry it from frozen

and you'll get a very crisp, light, fluffy potato.

What's your favourite food to eat?

To be fair, because where we live is right on the coast,

we have an abundance of brilliant fish.

I suppose I don't think you can beat a Cromer crab, myself.

Didn't you start off, when you were younger,

you had your own little stall and made...? Exactly right.

I've not been formally trained.

I never went to college. I'm not academic.

My mum said, "Well, you can cook."

Every Thursday, I'd take all my gear over to Rye market,

having baked it all the week before.

I had a trestle table twice the size of this

for cakes, biscuits, scones, you name it.

Wow! That's how I started.

Let's get the lamb sealed off.

There is no problem with sealing the lamb off nice and early.

I think sometimes it's not being scared of it, isn't it?

Absolutely. Don't be frightened of what you're doing.

So, that's the lamb.

This is now going into a 200 oven.

I'll give it five minutes to start off with.

Thank you so much.

You've had your Michelin star for quite a few years now, haven't you?

Yeah. Since...is it 1999? 1999.

Wow. Wow! It was a massive surprise

because we do what's called a tasting menu,

a set menu, for a want of a word,

and we change it every night of the week.

I didn't think you could get a Michelin star doing that style,

but, obviously, yes, so I'm very proud of it.

So, that sits on top. Now under a hot grill

we'll let it melt over it.

Right, these are going back in.

That can get a colour.

Artichoke puree.

I love this. This is my favourite puree.

It is not everybody's cup of tea, I will say that.

But once you have it together with everything, you'll see what I mean.

It's that attention to detail, isn't it? Wow.

So, there you go. It's melted onto the lamb, like so.

The big test.

It looks...perfect! Wow. See, I don't go too thick.

Lamb jus.

Don't go mad.

Mint jelly.

And that's not a bad plate of food, I don't think.

I think we deserve a taste, don't you?

Definitely!

Wow!

So good. Your mouth, it floats around.

That is absolutely... That is so nice! ..delicious.

So, Galton, it's crunch time.

You've got to make a decision now on who you're going to take through

to the Friday final but, before you do,

we're going to have a quick recap on what our cooks made.

Although well cooked,

Matt's lamb suffered presentation problems in round one.

He slightly under seasoned his beurre blanc in the second,

but impressed Galton with his extensive use of ingredients

in the final round.

I want to win so bad. I'm one more step closer to Friday.

Fingers crossed I get there.

Meanwhile, Debbie impressed Galton

with her presentation in the first round,

breezed through the second with her beurre blanc...

I like this one.

..but disappointed Galton with her lack of ingredients in round three.

She cooked it. Just put it in the pan and fry it!

I really do want to win but I have to say, if I go out at this stage

then I am absolutely thrilled with what I've done so far.

So, Chef, it's time to reveal your winner.

Who are you going to take with you to the Friday final?

You've both done amazingly well.

After the first challenge, Debbie, you were ahead.

I thought your rack of lamb was spot-on.

Coming into the third dish, my opinion was completely swayed

on the fact that the artichoke was used,

there's a bit of innovation there

with the squash and the potato galette.

So my winner is Matt.

Well done. Well done. Well done!

Get in!

Debbie's great. It's a tough competition.

I thought she'd sneaked it, actually, in the end.

It was that bloomin' artichoke! If only I'd used the artichoke!

So, Chef, have you got any final words for your partner?

We're in it to win it, obviously.

I'm looking forward to it cos I think you've got some talent.

YOU need to win it! THEY LAUGH

I just feel ecstatic.

I'm so happy and I can't wait for Friday.

Tomorrow on Yes Chef...

..four more home cooks go all out to impress top chef Michael O'Hare.

You've got a real thing for chickens, don't you?

It's a chance for them to work alongside the best in the business.

Ten minutes left.

But only one can become his partner for the Friday final.

It's so close, it's unbelievable.