Great British Menu - Season 20 Episode 25 -
The Finals: Starters
The Finals: Starters
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FunTranscript
00:00Ed, have you got a name yet?
00:02Yeah, let's get cracking, the chef's reducing.
00:04Finals week quiz, what could be better?
00:06What are we going to call ourselves, Tom?
00:08Universally challenged.
00:10That's good.
00:12What about brain box on the slap, Ed?
00:14LAUGHTER
00:15You'd have to shave your head.
00:17LAUGHTER
00:19We're going to win this.
00:21Welcome to finals week.
00:25Eight of the UK's top chefs have got to the finals
00:28after winning their heat.
00:30Now that I'm here, I think winning is the only thing on my mind.
00:33They're now competing for the accolade which will make them famous,
00:37like so many of the chefs from our 20-year history.
00:41These are the best of the best from all the regions.
00:43Those Michelin stars are giving out for a reason.
00:46They're vying to cook a dish at an historic banquet at Blenheim Palace.
00:50Wow, that's hot.
00:52With only four spaces and this year two wild-card chefs
00:56chosen by me and Tom, it's tougher than ever to achieve victory.
01:01The competition is definitely about to get even harder.
01:05There can, of course, only be one winner.
01:20I'm really proud to be representing the North West.
01:23I do love living in the Lake District.
01:25I draw inspiration from all around it.
01:28The winning chefs from every corner of the UK
01:31are returning to the Great British Menu kitchen to commence battle.
01:35So it's a great honour to represent Wales.
01:38I haven't worked in super-duper restaurants
01:41and I have taught a lot myself, so I'm proud of that as well.
01:45I'm so proud to be representing Scotland.
01:47I've thought about nothing else.
01:49Definitely a little nervous about the whole thing.
01:51Last time I was here, I was so close to getting a dish to the banquet.
01:54I've really, really got unfinished business
01:56and I just need to push it that little bit harder for the central region.
01:59I'm excited to be here representing London and the South East.
02:02The ultimate goal for me coming here
02:04is to try to at least get two dishes to the banquet.
02:06I'm really hoping to get the South West to the banquet this year.
02:09I'm the only chef that hasn't been working in a restaurant,
02:12so we'll see how that goes.
02:13I feel like I'm representing Northern Ireland
02:15and I'm also representing the diabetics.
02:17These things shouldn't hold us back.
02:19I want to try and take it the whole way.
02:21I'm just so excited to be able to represent Yorkshire.
02:23Can't wait to get in the kitchen,
02:25see what competition I'm up against and get cooking.
02:28Every chef has spent hours refining their dishes
02:31in the hope of tens and a place on our banquet menu.
02:35Now they're about to find out who they're up against.
02:39First in, Sally, Amber and Mark.
02:43Central England, South West England and Scotland.
02:47Well, here we are.
02:48Good morning. Good morning.
02:50Back in finals? Yeah.
02:52And you two, is it both your first time at finals?
02:54First time at finals, yeah.
02:55Congratulations on getting through.
02:57Thank you. It's amazing.
02:59Her third time here, Sally was runner-up in 2022,
03:03cooking the canapé and pre-dessert.
03:06So that's table one? Table one.
03:08For most, this would be enough,
03:10but only the top prize will do for Sally.
03:14The competition is definitely going to be fierce,
03:16as it was in the previous time I was in the finals.
03:19This time, I feel more confident in my dishes.
03:22Feeling nervous, Mark?
03:23Less nervous than I was in the heat.
03:25Competition's been really stressful, pretty intense.
03:28Hopefully I don't cry this week.
03:31Sally Abbey is definitely someone that I've got my eye on,
03:35but I'm just going to get my head down and we'll see what happens.
03:40Hi, you OK? Hi.
03:41Next through the door, Daniel from Wales and Stevie, Northern Ireland.
03:46First time.
03:47First time, yeah.
03:48First time.
03:49Amazing.
03:50Possibly last time.
03:51We'll see how it goes this week.
03:53Yes, finals week is something that would make me very nervous.
03:56There's seven other people to try and beat.
03:58Now I'm against these, the winners of every region.
04:01The level's just gone up, you know, ten notches.
04:05Completing the line-up are Jean, Jack and Callum.
04:09London and the south-east, the north-west and the north-east of England.
04:13All of them hold a Michelin star.
04:16Yeah, my biggest rival in the kitchen now at the moment
04:18are Jack and Callum right up there.
04:20So a few familiar faces, we'll have to test myself against them.
04:23There's some incredible chefs in that kitchen this week.
04:25I would quite like to beat Jack, he was actually my sous-chef at Marcus for a year.
04:29It's going to be a hard competition.
04:31There's some returning people here, Sally, Mark and Amber.
04:34And there's also some Michelin star holders.
04:36So I don't think you can discount anyone.
04:39So we've got four Michelin stars to have kitchen this week.
04:42Yeah, we've got a green star as well, so add another one to that.
04:45Five Michelin stars, then!
04:47Well, that makes it exciting. I can't wait to see how yous cook.
04:50At least we'll have good recipes to steal.
04:52100%.
04:55Judging their food is Lorna McNee,
04:57not only champion of champions in 2019,
05:00but also the only woman in Scotland to hold a Michelin star.
05:04Joining her, comedian and food podcaster Ed Gamble,
05:07and, of course, double banquet course winner
05:10and chef with a total of three Michelin stars, Tom Kerridge.
05:22Morning, chefs.
05:23Morning. It's D-Day.
05:25Just a minute.
05:26What?
05:27He's not a chef.
05:28I was really enjoying that.
05:30He was reveling in that.
05:32He was like, yes, finally!
05:34Hello, Wade.
05:35Best cheese on toast in East London.
05:38Morning, judges.
05:39Morning.
05:40It's because I'm obsessing about our chefs, that's why.
05:43And this week is super excited for those chefs.
05:46There'll be a kitchen full of nerves.
05:48Can they get one of those dishes to the banquet?
05:50I'm really excited for them today,
05:52so they should be excited as well and really ride on that excitement.
05:55I'm ready. You ready? I'm ready.
05:57Very ready. We're ready.
05:59I've been in this position before
06:01and I know that everything is all to play for.
06:04I really want to win.
06:06Having Michelin star, green star,
06:08it obviously is a little bit of added pressure.
06:10I've really got to push myself.
06:12Morning. Morning, chef.
06:14Morning, chefs.
06:15Welcome to finals week.
06:18Sally, how are you feeling? This is your third time.
06:21Is this going to be the year you get a dish there?
06:23That is the plan. Third time lucky.
06:25First up is the starter course.
06:27Has anybody got their sights set on this course?
06:30Sally? Yeah.
06:33OK, so first to cook today will be Jean, Callum, Mark and Daniel,
06:38so off you go.
06:39Good luck, chefs. Thank you. Cheers.
06:41Which means the rest of you will be cooking this afternoon.
06:46Cooking first are the chefs from Scotland, Wales,
06:49London and the south-east and north-east of England.
06:52Ready to get going? Yeah. Good luck, guys. Good luck.
06:55In the finals, there's no canapé and the starters are plant-based.
07:01How did you guys score for your starters for the judges?
07:04Two sevens and a six.
07:06I did all right on this one. Eight, eight, nine.
07:08All right, nice. Very good. Coming for you today.
07:11Absolutely, yeah. All right, let's go.
07:14All the scores are back to zero.
07:16Only the chefs' efforts today will see them through to the banquet.
07:22I must have spent more hours on my starter course
07:26over the course of this competition than I have any other dish
07:29in the history of my career.
07:32So I need to get my potato and Jerusalem artichoke terrine on.
07:39Cook it in celeriac, down in vegan butter.
07:42It'll bring a real nice bit of creaminess and richness to the dish.
07:53OK, so this is lava breadstock.
07:55Half of it I'm going to use to poach the potatoes
07:58and then the other half will be for the sauce.
08:04Jean starts by piping celeriac parfait into moulds that need freezing.
08:09Freezer, freezer.
08:14To help score the dishes is writer and director Gurinder Chadha OBE.
08:19With her new star-studded film set for release later this year,
08:23she's best known for penning and directing
08:262002's groundbreaking Bend It Like Beckham.
08:30Hi, Gurinder. Hello!
08:32How are you doing? I'm good, thanks. Ed, nice to meet you.
08:34Hello, Lauren, nice to meet you. Hello.
08:36Good morning, how are you? Good morning, Tom.
08:38How are you, Gurinder? Come on in, come on in.
08:40Grab a seat, make yourself comfy.
08:42Are you a starters fan? Yes, I am.
08:44I often will order two starters instead of a main.
08:47Good, well, you've got eight coming. Lovely, lovely.
08:50Everything's plant-based today.
08:52Do you eat a lot of vegetarian, vegan-style foods?
08:54When I don't know what to eat, I'll eat just a cauliflower head, raw.
08:59Wow!
09:00Yes, but my favourite food is always Asian food.
09:04Yes, nice, lots of fresh, vibrant, but, like, big flavours.
09:08I still can't get over the raw cauliflower.
09:11In one of my favourite lines in Bend It Like Beckham was,
09:15anyone can cook aloo gobi, but who can bend a ball like David Beckham?
09:19That was such a groundbreaking film.
09:22I made the film because I wanted to put a girl in the world of men
09:27and I had no idea the impact it was going to have,
09:30particularly on the women's game.
09:32Huge, if you look at the success of the Lionesses.
09:35And also the US Women's Champions team.
09:37They've all gone on record as saying that they got into playing football
09:41after watching the film.
09:43So, guys, obviously we're cooking for guest judge Gurinder Chadhar.
09:47Pretty exciting.
09:48Yeah, it's cool. You're doing a dish based around a film star, aren't you?
09:51Yeah, so I'm doing a dish that's inspired by Richard Burton,
09:54so hopefully she'll love the connection.
09:56I hope so, yeah. Absolutely.
10:01I hate beetroot.
10:03Just got my shallots sweating down for my pearl barley risotto.
10:08So far, so good.
10:11All chefs take it in turns, going first to last in finals week.
10:15Jean's got the short straw today,
10:17with his dish dedicated to 19th-century botanist William Borah.
10:23But first, his parfaits need checking.
10:26Those aren't quite frozen yet.
10:29There's also bread buns to make and bake.
10:33Yeah, time's quite short, but just the bread proving in time,
10:36I think that's going to be the biggest one.
10:38OK, so the first dish, and it's a botanist's life.
10:41Celeriac parfait, birch jelly, almond and wild leaf cracker,
10:45and a white bun.
10:47Now, I remember this dish having potential,
10:50but there was kind of like this bouquet garni of, like, herbs,
10:54a bit pointless.
10:56So I'm wondering if he's changed it up just a little bit.
10:59My main memory of it, it was a little bit frozen in the middle.
11:02Starter? Yeah. You ready to rock and roll?
11:05I think so, yeah. Try and improve a little bit.
11:07So you've got six and two sevens. I did.
11:09The main issue was the temperature of your core parfait, wasn't it?
11:13Yes, yeah. So what are you doing to address that?
11:15So what I've done is I've kept the parfait.
11:17I've just made smaller balls, all different sizes,
11:19and hopefully it plays pretty on the eye,
11:21but it'll defrost in time.
11:23There was a little floral bouquet. Yes.
11:25It was lovely, but didn't work, didn't do very well.
11:27No, didn't do much. Are you keeping that?
11:29No, we got rid of that. I know you were forced to be reckoned with,
11:32so we'll see what happens on the parfait. Yeah, let's push.
11:35Next, Jean makes a birch jelly to coat the parfait.
11:39Maple syrup.
11:40And then moves on to his almond crackers,
11:43this time rolling the wild leaves and herbs he served on the side
11:47into the dough.
11:50I don't think we're going to get those mistakes again.
11:53He seems very focused.
11:54I can guarantee he's not made those mistakes again.
11:56He's not slept since? No, probably not, no.
11:59Been up just taking parfait out of the freezer.
12:06Halfway there, they're proved.
12:08Yeah, they're not as pretty as I would want.
12:13But more than anything, Jean needs parfait perfection,
12:17as each sphere is coated in the birch jelly.
12:20His almond crackers are also cooked.
12:23Cheeky trick, tricky trick. It's on the induction.
12:29How are we doing? Yeah, good, mate.
12:31Jean is first up to the pass, so out of all of them,
12:34I feel like he's probably feeding it absolutely the most.
12:39Jean, you have one minute to the pass, chef.
12:41Wait, I'm going to be late. OK, how long do you need?
12:43Three in total should be good. That's absolutely fine.
12:46Anything I can do? Yes, please, mate.
12:48If you can help me with these quick.
12:50Jean's celeriac parfaits are first garnished with herb leaves.
12:54It doesn't have to be too precise, it just needs to be even.
12:57Do you want a hand?
12:58So I've got loads of these crackers, they're all cut out.
13:01As Callum places the crackers and buns,
13:05Jean and the others finish garnishing the parfaits with flower petals.
13:09You happy, Jean?
13:11No, not really. What's that?
13:13That's just not quite set.
13:16That's it, done.
13:21Wow.
13:23There we go. Service, please.
13:26First one out the gate, Jean.
13:29Yeah, it was a bit of a push, to be fair.
13:37Hi. There you go, please help yourselves.
13:39Wow, thank you.
13:40Chefs waiting to cook second get a taste of their rival's food
13:44to see what they're up against.
13:46He has made it a little smaller. It's a bit smaller, isn't it?
13:49But not if you look through this end, it's massive.
13:52The largest of my sphere, in the very middle, is slightly frozen.
13:56My middle sphere is more frozen than last time, I would say.
14:00And the little one's fine.
14:01Yeah, I've got to point out that Lorna did say
14:03she guarantees he won't make this mistake.
14:05I don't know what...
14:07It's a lot richer than I was expecting.
14:09Yeah.
14:11The bread is absolutely delicious.
14:13And it's warm.
14:14And, I mean...
14:15The warm bread.
14:16..when you spread it.
14:17Yeah, it's like bread and butter, isn't it?
14:19So, the salad you were talking about is now in here.
14:23That's beautiful.
14:24The flavours are great, but they could be so much better
14:27if it was just at a better temperature.
14:29He's not executed it correctly.
14:31Maybe he can just take a deep breath and set himself up
14:34for the rest of the week.
14:41So, this is basically just the lava bread.
14:43It's got a bit of butter in it,
14:46so this is basically just the lava bread caviar mix.
14:50So, I've finally got my veg blanch,
14:52but I think I'm OK, making good time, I think.
14:56Over here, I've just got my pearl barley risotto base.
14:59I'm just going to deglaze that with a little bit of white wine
15:02in a second.
15:03It's Callum next.
15:04I'm feeling quite good about this dish.
15:06Obviously, I didn't score super high, so, you know,
15:08I've gone away, I've done a lot of research on it,
15:10and hopefully I'll do myself proud today, yeah.
15:14Time's tight, yeah, I'm pushing on.
15:17So, the next dish now, and this comes from Callum,
15:20roasted onion, onion tea, and a plant-based parmier
15:23with truffle and vegan parmesan.
15:26And it's celebrating Huddersfield-born suffragette
15:28Dora Thewlis and the suffragettes' meeting places of tea parlours.
15:32I didn't think the parmier was cooked enough.
15:34Wasn't there a hollandaise on it before
15:36that you particularly didn't enjoy?
15:38No, I think it's been removed.
15:39It also looks like there's a pearl barley risotto
15:41as an addition to what we had previous as well.
15:45Dan, can I have that smoking gun after you, please?
15:47Yeah, of course.
15:49In his heat, Callum didn't score highly,
15:52with a seven from Ed, five from Lorna, and a four from Tom.
15:56Is that a parmier, I see?
15:58Yes. I've just gone away and I've refined it a little bit.
16:00So, well, I'm using two different varieties
16:02of, like, plant-based parmesans, basically.
16:04Nice.
16:05I didn't score as highly as what I wanted to.
16:07Pretty heartbroken by that, to be honest with you.
16:09Yes!
16:10Right, so, big changes, then?
16:11Yes.
16:12So, I've got, like, a pearl barley risotto bit
16:15and some of that roast onion broth
16:16that's going to be served in the teapot.
16:19I think time is the only thing that is worrying me.
16:22It's always hard. Time goes so quickly in here.
16:25With the parmiers ready to bake,
16:27a celeriac puree for the risotto is blitzed.
16:35So, you have an OBE, is that right?
16:37I was delighted. I wasn't expecting it.
16:40Being in Buckingham Palace,
16:42you can't but help think about your ancestors,
16:45and I was just thinking about my grandparents in India and Kenya
16:49and what...the lives that they had led
16:52and the royals of the time,
16:54and then here's me with the Queen today.
16:57For me, accepting it was to say,
16:59yes, I am part of British cultural society
17:02and I'm quite honoured to have it as well.
17:08The pressure's really on.
17:11Callum's parmiers are baked.
17:13Nearly up with us.
17:15And his fermented onion garnish is deep-fried.
17:19Five minutes, Callum. Thank you, Andy.
17:21Callum starts plating by arranging the parmiers
17:24on vintage tea saucers.
17:27A chive oil is then added
17:29before being topped with fresh chives.
17:32Lashings of grated truffle finish the new pearl barley risotto.
17:37So is this exactly how it was the last time you ate it?
17:40No, so it's changed quite a bit.
17:42So I've just got my risotto in the bowl there
17:44and then I'm just going to finish with the crispy onions,
17:46meant to look a little bit like demerara sugar.
17:48To finish, Callum fills a teapot with his onion broth.
17:54Oh, it looks so great.
17:56Yum, yum, scruddly-dum.
17:58All right, service, please, guys. Thank you.
18:01It's served to the suffragette anthem.
18:08Hi, guys. You all right?
18:10Oh, wow. Thank you.
18:12Oh, thank you.
18:14Thanks, Dad.
18:16Cheers. Cheers.
18:18It feels like a less confusing presentation than last time.
18:22You like that onion, too? Love it.
18:24I've got a lot fresher on it.
18:26I've got a lot fresher on it.
18:28I've got a lot fresher on it.
18:30I think last time it was a bit too sour.
18:32The chai boil with the tea, as well,
18:34kind of adds another element to it, doesn't it?
18:36That is delicious.
18:38I think the tea is a real improvement.
18:40How are you feeling about the risotto?
18:42Personally, I love it.
18:44I really love barley. I think it's great.
18:46It's really creamy. I love the chew.
18:48Yeah, I wanted a little bit of texture in there from that barley.
18:51The parmies, I think, are fantastic.
18:53I could sit and eat a whole packet of these.
18:55They're delicious.
18:57The tea is amazing. Thank you.
18:59Isn't that gorgeous?
19:01I think he's really stepped it up.
19:03Massive, massive improvement.
19:10I'm not in pure panic just yet.
19:13Daniel's dish is focused on the Welsh seaweed delicacy lava bread,
19:17which he's elevating by making a vegan caviar.
19:21If this dish was to go to the banquet,
19:24I'm definitely going to invest in a machine.
19:28Have you guys heard of Sophia de Leapzing?
19:31No.
19:32So, Sophia de Leapzing was the granddaughter of Maharaja Ranjit Singh,
19:38who was the head of the Sikh kingdom.
19:41Queen Victoria was her godmother and she was a suffragette.
19:46She went to Downing Street and threw herself at the Prime Minister's car
19:51and then she was taken to the police station
19:54and then somebody from the palace said,
19:56you can't charge her, she's the Queen's goddaughter,
19:59and she wouldn't leave prison
20:01because she wanted to make a big deal about the suffragettes
20:04and her being in there.
20:06So there was all this sort of legal, royal shenanigans going on.
20:12Mark's up next with a beetroot book homage to Scotland's
20:15Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
20:17and his first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study In Scarlet.
20:21So, next up we have Mark from Scotland.
20:24It's Jerusalem artichoke, potato and vegan cheese deep-fried terrine,
20:28miso and chilli puree, salt-baked beetroot,
20:32smoked blackberry, sauce and edible ash.
20:35The presentation of this was outstanding.
20:37Yeah, you'll be very impressed with it.
20:39Fantastic presentation, but the dish itself,
20:41it didn't have much in the way of layers of texture and crunch.
20:45Mark didn't score brilliantly in his heat,
20:48with Ed, Lorna and Tom all giving him a six.
20:51How are you addressing their feedback?
20:53Still doing the book, but I'm deep-frying it,
20:55carve out the centre and then fill it.
20:57We've got some salt-baked beets, some semi-dry beetroots,
21:00toasted pumpkin seeds, so there's quite a lot going in.
21:03Having layered potatoes and artichokes with vegan cheese,
21:07it's time to cook the new centre of the book.
21:10Looks OK, it's set, just need to get them fried off now.
21:14It's not often we see the words deep-fry,
21:16and I am excited for that.
21:18Deep-fried's something that happens a lot in Scotland.
21:21I was waiting for someone to make the comment.
21:23I was like, who's going to say it?
21:25Someone's going to say Scotland deep-fried.
21:31Fryers are hot, eh?
21:33They do tend to be, yeah.
21:36With the terrines done, Mark cuts out the centres
21:39and lines with the beetroot, chilli and miso puree.
21:43Chef. Hello. You have nine minutes.
21:45I think I'm going to be on time. Easy.
21:48How are you doing, Dan? I'm OK, thank you.
21:51Just focused, laser-focused on caviar-making.
21:55Yeah, just chilling out here in the world of my own.
21:59Salt-baked beetroot is next,
22:01followed by fermented beetroot and roasted pumpkin seeds.
22:06I've got a bit of soy and chilli on them. Nice.
22:09You've got four minutes, Mark. Thank you.
22:12If you want to do the sauce for me, please.
22:19Finally, Mark's terrines are covered
22:21with the beetroot jelly book covers.
22:27There we go. All right, you happy, Chef?
22:29Service, please.
22:31Do you want to grab the tool, Mark? Yeah.
22:36Feeling good?
22:37Yeah, let's hope I never have to plate that again.
22:43HE SIGHS
22:46Oh, here we go.
22:48Thank you. Looks great. Thank you.
22:52Oh!
22:54HE GASPS
22:55I say, I say, I say!
23:02This is a work of art.
23:05Oh, my goodness.
23:07I think this is delicious.
23:09Beetroot tastes great and the pumpkin seeds are great.
23:11There's one bit I don't like, it's the vegan,
23:13the beetroot cheese, I think.
23:15I think that's super strong.
23:17There's a lot going on flavour-wise, isn't there?
23:19The sweetness works really well with the saltiness
23:21of the terrine and the cheese in there.
23:23It's tasty, Mark. Yeah, to do that in that amount of time, yeah.
23:26Now that crispy terrine is delicious, innit?
23:28I love the bits of pumpkin seed.
23:30I love the textures going through, man.
23:33And it's a vast improvement on what it was previous.
23:36This is a very, very strong bit of cooking, this.
23:39This is going to be up there. It's a really delicious dish.
23:42Well done, Mark.
23:47Daniel's starter is Welshman's caviar,
23:50dedicated to the Welsh actor Richard Burton.
23:53So far, he's the chef to beat,
23:55with two eights from Tom and Lorna and a nine from Ed.
23:59The score was OK.
24:02I think it can be better again, hopefully.
24:05So the next dish is from Daniel.
24:08It's smoked nori potato, Welsh onion,
24:12lava bread caviar and sea herbs.
24:15I love lava bread.
24:17We were all pretty positive about this dish the first time we had it.
24:20Yeah, it was very good. It was very tasty.
24:22Yeah, I remember it being really delicious.
24:24Excited to eat it again.
24:32You could get this starter for Wales.
24:34You could be on that board, for sure.
24:36You're in the running for this dish.
24:38Fingers crossed.
24:39Fingers crossed. Focus, focus, chef.
24:41Yes. Get it out there.
24:43I really love British cooking.
24:46Like, I love that the Welsh have their dishes
24:49and the Scottish and the Irish.
24:52I love going to find pubs and small restaurants
24:55that absolutely do their national dish as well,
24:58because we all try and make Welsh rare bit
25:00and it's just never the same.
25:02It's the great thing about Great British Menu.
25:04We have those eight heats that the chefs really do click into
25:07the food and the produce of that area
25:09and try to make sure that it's showcased in its best possible way.
25:16Walshman's caviar.
25:18I like your brand of caviar, man.
25:20Yeah.
25:21First job for Daniel is to smoke his nori-wrapped potatoes.
25:25It was Spencer's suggestion.
25:27I think what he did just elevated the dish a little bit.
25:30Meanwhile, Jean gets to work filling caviar tins
25:33with the lava bread spheres.
25:35What's in your sauce, Dan?
25:37It's just a lava bread stock. Yeah.
25:39A vegan double cream.
25:40There'll be a lot of, like, herbs and stuff through it.
25:43Callum's charged with placing blanched sea herbs on serving plates.
25:47Sorry, you want them tighter in? Yeah.
25:49Not like a triangle, a little bit less kind of uniform.
25:52They're all triangles. Do it again.
25:54A smoked nori-wrapped potato takes centre stage,
25:57topped with dressed, charred onions.
26:00What have you got in there?
26:02It's a little dressing with the chives, capers, a little bit of vinegar.
26:05You've got six minutes, Dan. OK.
26:07A lava bread sauce is poured into serving jugs.
26:11On the sauce, if we could just have...
26:14..just a nice sprinkle of chives on the top, please.
26:17Each plate is finished with potato crisps and samphire.
26:28Oh! Happy, Chef? It's done.
26:31Yeah, it's done. It looks gorgeous, too.
26:34Service, please.
26:45Hello. Hello, Chef. There you go.
26:47Daniel's dish is served with a photo slideshow of Richard Burton.
26:51It's fun, isn't it?
26:53Bit raunchy, that one.
26:55Bit raunchy.
26:57I'm a big fan of this dish.
26:59I like its cleanliness, simplicity.
27:02This is Wales, like, you can tell.
27:05But I don't know whether it's just a little hard on the smoke.
27:09I love it. I love how smoky that potato is.
27:11It's definitely smokier than it was last time.
27:14Sauce good, smoke good, potato good.
27:16The food is delicious.
27:18Taking beautiful ingredients and just letting them sing.
27:21I could definitely see this at the banquet.
27:24Yeah. I think it's a great dish.
27:28First course done. How are we feeling?
27:30I was happy with it, but, I mean, trying your guys' food,
27:32I thought it was all really, really good.
27:34I'm my worst critic. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:36But I'm just glad it's done now.
27:38I'd have liked a bit more time.
27:40Nerves are settled now, so now we're back in the zone.
27:42Competition's tough, isn't it? Yeah, it is, yeah.
27:45Hello, judges. How are you?
27:47How are you doing? Good, thank you.
27:49Welcome to the judges' chamber. Thank you so much.
27:51How's it been for you this morning?
27:53Amazing. Really lovely food,
27:55but also the presentation of every dish
27:58is aesthetically mind-blowing for me.
28:01So I'm loving the storytelling.
28:03Do you consciously think about how to role-model yourself
28:07for younger women to move into your industry?
28:11Yes, I do quite a lot of mentoring work.
28:14People can shoot movies on iPhones. Right.
28:16You know, you don't need all the McGoverns like when I first started.
28:20So a lot of people I know,
28:22I encourage them, when people write to me,
28:24I say, get your phone and get your mates together
28:27and make little films. Just do it.
28:29Just do it. Keep doing it. Yeah.
28:31They've done a really excellent job, I think, this morning, Tom.
28:34There's improvements all round, I think.
28:36Yeah, it's been a delicious morning.
28:38They've done an amazing job to get here
28:40and everything's been really good.
28:42Thank you for feeding me such delicious food.
28:44There's more chefs, like, literally chomping at the bits,
28:47ready to share their glory with you.
28:49See you in a bit, guys. Bye. Bye.
28:53All right. Hi, chefs. How are you?
28:55Yeah, good, thanks. How was it?
28:57Yeah, thought it was good, wasn't it? Now we know what we have to beat.
29:00Well done for applying the pressure. That's what we're here for.
29:03Best of luck, everyone. Enjoy. Happy cooking.
29:05Cheers. Let's do it.
29:06Now it's time for the champions from Northern Ireland,
29:09the South West, the North West and Central and East of England
29:12to cut their hearts out.
29:14So how do you guys score in the heats?
29:16I've got a lot to prove today, so do you.
29:18It was one of my lower scoring.
29:20Stevie scored a six from Ed, five from Lorna and four from Tom,
29:24whilst Amber received three fives.
29:27I've got a lot to prove with this one.
29:29What about yourselves? I hear you've done very well, both of you.
29:32I got a nine and two tens, so hoping to recreate the same magic today.
29:37Yeah, well, I got two nines and a ten, so quietly confident.
29:42Good luck, everyone. Good luck, guys. Yes, good luck. Let's go.
29:46Stevie and Amber both have a mountain to climb
29:49if they're to score higher today.
29:53Confidence-wise, the one that I'd be liking would be the starter.
29:56I want to see scores up the board a bit.
29:58I really need to nail every element of this dish
30:00and I just want the judges to enjoy it more than they did last time.
30:03That's the main thing.
30:04Amber's taking the judges' advice on board
30:07and made changes to her recipe.
30:09So this is my vegan feta
30:11and it's one of the new elements on the dish.
30:14There's also another four new components,
30:17while Stevie is only changing two.
30:20Big things for this dish were seasoning
30:22and then the mouthfeel on the vine leaves.
30:25That's all we can do.
30:26At the other end of the scale,
30:28just one point divides the top scorers, Sally and Jack.
30:33My concerns for this dish are,
30:35if I don't nail the flavour profiles how I want,
30:39otherwise I think I'll find myself in trouble
30:41because there's some very strong contenders to win this course.
30:45How are you, chef?
30:46Yeah, all right, just trying to keep the nerves at bay.
30:48You're top of the league for your starter.
30:50That is more pressure that I'm under.
30:52That's more pressure, fantastic.
30:54Are you making any changes?
30:56Not really.
30:57The butter was a bit soft,
30:58so I'm going to make sure it comes straight out of the fridge.
31:00Well, I can't wait to see it all again.
31:02Thank you so much.
31:03See what happens.
31:06I'm feeling confident
31:07as I did get really good scores from the judges,
31:09so I just really need to focus on replicating
31:12exactly what I did in the regionals.
31:14Jack gets things under way,
31:16dicing potatoes before starting his sauce.
31:19Roasting the shallots off for the base.
31:21Soften the garlic just enough,
31:23but not overcook it so all the acidity goes out of it.
31:29Sally cracks on with charring onions on the barbecue
31:32before making a start on her onion consommé.
31:36So it's all about the timing, really, with this dish,
31:38so the consommé is quite a time-consuming thing.
31:41Next, Sally whips yeast extract into vegan butter
31:45to spread on her brioche buns.
31:47I definitely think this is a banquet-worthy dish, yeah.
31:49I think it would be nice to have a dish
31:51dedicated to a woman from a woman.
31:53How many hours a day do you think you sit down
31:56and put words out there?
31:58So sometimes 12 hours a day, you know, sometimes longer.
32:0212 hours writing?
32:03Yeah.
32:04How many heads of cauliflower are you getting today?
32:07I do limit it to one a day.
32:11So I've just finished making a film,
32:13which will be out this Christmas.
32:15It's my version of A Christmas Carol,
32:18except my Scrooge is a very wealthy Indian businessman
32:22and Marley the Ghost is Hugh Bonneville,
32:24Danny Dyer is kind of like a narrator in it.
32:27It really is about Britain and Christmas
32:30as a big secular holiday.
32:32Amber's now on to her sunflower seed sauce,
32:35made with olive oil and lemon juice.
32:38All the powders and potions.
32:40While Stevie's making his dolmas,
32:42wrapping barley and oyster mushrooms in vine leaves,
32:45but on the other side of the kitchen...
32:47Wow, that's hot.
32:48..it's getting competitive,
32:50as Jack and Sally know they're among the favourites
32:53for this course.
32:54Now I'm here, I really want it.
32:56And now we're one and two, so...
32:58Got your sights set on it?
32:59I think so, yeah.
33:00I'd love to see it make it all the way.
33:02Well, may the best chef win.
33:04OK, our next starter is by Stevie from Northern Ireland
33:08and it's a sailor's supper.
33:10Ajo Blanco, vine-leaf dolma and Irish barley with oyster mushroom,
33:14glazed mitaki mushroom and beer cracker.
33:18Stevie's dish is inspired by the Spanish Armada shipwrecks
33:22off the coast of Northern Ireland.
33:24Feel like we're racing there in three seconds.
33:27And with his almond soup blitzed,
33:29it's finished with sherry vinegar and miso.
33:32Yeah, it's looking good.
33:34Next, his beer cracker dough is cut.
33:39How high do you think the bar is for this year?
33:41Oh, the bar is massively high this year.
33:45Now, I remember this dish being quite interesting.
33:49There were some seasoning issues, I think, with the Ajo Blanco.
33:52And temperature.
33:53But I remember enjoying...
33:55The beer cracker.
33:56The beer cracker and the dolma, actually.
33:58Yeah, but the vine-leaf was a bit chewy.
34:00So tell me what your feedback was like about this dish.
34:02A lot of the feedback was based off seasoning,
34:04so seasoning's been massive today.
34:06So you're pushing that.
34:07Punch, punch, punch, yeah, yeah.
34:08There was talk about the vine-leaf being too tough.
34:10Yes, I think we've fixed that.
34:12You have?
34:13Yes, I believe so.
34:14It's got a harder, harder blanch, and then I've also brined it.
34:17Put up the best representation I can,
34:19and, yeah, show them what Northern Ireland can do.
34:22All right! Fighting talk. I like it, Stevie. All right.
34:26Stevie dusts his crackers with seagrass powder
34:29for added flavour punch
34:31before pan-frying caramel-glazed maitake mushrooms.
34:35If you could keep a wee eye on these mushies for me.
34:38Four minutes to go, Stevie. Yep, sounds great.
34:43With the dolmas cooked,
34:44they're brushed with lemon juice for added kick
34:47whilst the chilled almond soup is served.
34:50So it's just literally going to be like a wee ladle like that there.
34:53Yep. If you want to do that for the other plates.
34:56And this is your last 30 seconds now.
34:59I'm drifting away.
35:02Jack positions grape halves on the soup.
35:05Is this looking how you want it to? Yes, Chef.
35:08Olive and chive oils are swirled on top
35:10before the dolmas are delicately balanced.
35:13Need an extra 30 seconds. Let me know.
35:15You will take an extra 30 seconds, Andy.
35:17An extra 30 seconds. All right, Chef.
35:19Stevie's dish is finished with a beer cracker,
35:22maitake mushrooms and blanched almonds.
35:29OK. Very heavy, guys.
35:33OK. Service, please.
35:39Does it feel good to get it done?
35:41It feels good to get that one out of the way, yeah.
35:46That looks amazing.
35:48Oh, look at that.
35:50Take a little one each.
35:52Yeah, so it's a fairly traditional ale blanc,
35:55also like a cold soup as such.
35:58The vine leaf is much, much easier to eat.
36:01The warm, lovely texture of the pearl barley stuff in the middle
36:04is delicious.
36:05Texturally a bit different, but very nice, yeah. Different.
36:08I really like the texture of the cracker.
36:10It brought a lot to it, I thought.
36:12Yeah, the beer cracker, yeah, it was nice.
36:14The ale blanc was lovely, but the topping was overpowering.
36:18I think he has made improvements in certain areas.
36:20The soup is seasoned better.
36:22I think the mushroom's really sticky with caramel now.
36:24It's sticking behind my teeth.
36:25It's a really interesting dish.
36:27No-one else is doing something like this.
36:29Yeah, I'm very excited for Stevie
36:31because this is a huge improvement.
36:35I had it before.
36:40Amber is up next with her beetroot ode
36:43to Cornish chemist Humphrey Davies.
36:45So this is a beetroot cornet,
36:47but it's a lot of fiddly faffing about, basically.
36:50But it makes it look beautiful, so it's all worth it.
36:54OK, so the next starter is from Amber,
36:57and it's a chemist's lunch.
36:59Apple balsamic beetroot fondant, beetroot cornets,
37:02smoky mixed seed granola, linseed and sunflower seed cracker,
37:06pickled beetroot, sunflower seed sauce and sorrel.
37:09It looked amazing, but we just didn't think it could quite work, did we?
37:12Actually, the flavours, they were a little bit beige,
37:15but I remember the sauce being very, very good.
37:18This went down very well presentation-wise.
37:20They loved the storytelling.
37:22There was quite a lot of talk about texture.
37:25As a result of that, I am adding a linseed cracker,
37:28which is a very thin, beautiful cracker,
37:31a kind of vegan feta-type creamy filling inside,
37:34and a beetroot fondant.
37:36The key elements of just highlighting the beetroot,
37:39sunflower seed sauce, they're all still there.
37:42Amber next tackles another new addition,
37:45poaching beetroot fondants with thyme.
37:48I'm just colouring them off on the bottom.
37:50Once I've got a good colour, I'm going to flip them over.
37:53Before dealing with her linseed crackers.
37:55Back to the hind.
37:59This is really fragile.
38:02Beetroot cones are then piped with whipped vegan feta
38:05before being topped with the linseed cracker.
38:08Amber, chef, you have eight minutes to the pass.
38:10Lovely, thank you.
38:12Amber, a very methodical chef.
38:14She likes to be very organised, real focus.
38:18Beetroot fondants are topped with more vegan feta.
38:22Oh, wow, look at that.
38:27So pretty.
38:29Are we going 100ml, chef, or what are we doing?
38:31Yeah, 100ml would be great.
38:33Sorry, about 75ml, please, chef, if you'll swirl it around.
38:38Do you want to put five pieces of apple
38:41just dotted around at different angles?
38:43That's four minutes, Amber.
38:45Lovely, thank you, Andy.
38:47With pipettes of smoked rapeseed oil, pickled beetroot
38:50and a sorrel and parsley oil placed.
38:52My hands are shaking harder for you, of course.
38:54I don't know what that says about me.
38:56Amber finishes the dish with pickled beetroot.
39:01One of everything on each tray, please.
39:05Lovely, thank you.
39:08It's gorgeous, Amber.
39:10Service, please, guys. Thank you so much.
39:15Oh!
39:18Looks like I'm back at school.
39:23Hey, guys. Hey.
39:25There you go. This is awesome.
39:27Wow, thank you.
39:29Well, it's still a lot of fun to put together.
39:33And that crumb is really good.
39:35And the beetroots are really tender.
39:38Considering I'm not really a fan of beetroot, it's gone.
39:42Yeah.
39:43And I feel the sauce is more underwhelming
39:45than it was last time as well.
39:47I think the issue lies with the beetroot.
39:49What do you think, Sally? Yeah, delicious.
39:51I really like the sauce.
39:52The gels and stuff give it kind of a nice freshness as well.
39:55I think she's realised the inspiration really nicely.
39:57Yeah. But, yeah, it's just not...
39:59It's not singing for me.
40:01Unfortunately, I don't think the amendment she's made
40:04has really improved it much.
40:05When we started it, I thought it was delicious.
40:07But then you're ploughing your way through lots of beetroot.
40:11This is a nice dish, but it's not a standout
40:14when you're competing with seven other chefs
40:16that are the best in the country.
40:21Are you on track? Yeah, I think so. Are you?
40:24Yeah, I think so.
40:26Next up, Jack, who wowed the judges with his starter
40:29and with his potato crisps deep-fried.
40:32They're covered in leek ash and wild garlic seasoning.
40:36I always find cooking vegan dishes a little bit more exciting
40:39than meat, because it's a bit more challenging.
40:43And he faces a challenge in Sally.
40:46I'd love nothing more than to get the starter there
40:48and get one down, out of the way, relax a little bit.
40:52Right.
40:54You actually are second in the overall scores of the starters.
40:59Are you aware of that? Thanks for that.
41:01Of all the regionals. Yeah.
41:02Just in case you weren't feeling any pressure to deliver.
41:06So you're not making any changes?
41:08Zero changes, yeah.
41:09Zero changes, tens all across the board, please.
41:12Just consistency.
41:13If I got this one onto the banquet, I'd be over the moon.
41:16If I got any of them all over the banquet, I'd be over the moon.
41:19You'd be over the moon. It's a strong contendership.
41:22While Sally portions out fermented barley brioche dough,
41:26Jack works on his roasted yeast sauce.
41:31Yeah, it's nice. Yeah, it's good.
41:34So up next, we've got Jack's dish, rofterin.
41:37Diced and crisp potatoes, roasted yeast sauce, black garlic,
41:42truffle, leek ash and wild garlic powder.
41:45It's celebrating the first civilian mountain rescue team
41:48founded by Jim Cameron in Coniston in 1947.
41:53Next on Jack's list, a chive emulsion.
41:56Got an absolute bead on.
41:58Absolute what?
41:59Sweating. Yeah.
42:00Lovely.
42:01Followed by more potatoes, but these ones are diced and deep fried.
42:06I'm pretty happy with that.
42:08I remember this dish being my favourite dish of all the starters.
42:12I gave it a ten and I really enjoyed it.
42:14It was proper delicious and it genuinely looks like rofterin.
42:18Someone get the bowls out for me from the pass
42:20and then put them in the centre of each of the row.
42:23Jack's dish is focused around his roast yeast sauce
42:26that now needs finishing.
42:28So, brimwash a lot, fermented capers,
42:30and then we're going to add some of the vinegar that they come with.
42:34Pickled mustard seeds are added before fresh chives.
42:41You have seven minutes, Chef.
42:43Seven minutes, yeah, perfect.
42:44Is there anything we can do to help, Chef?
42:46So, yeah, so once this is back up to temperature,
42:49someone can put three spoonfuls in the bottom of each one.
42:52Yeah.
42:54The remaining mustard seeds are mixed with more chives.
42:58Delicious.
43:00With the diced potatoes finishing the sauce,
43:03black garlic puree is added to the leek sauce
43:06before Jack's crisps are covered with lashings of truffle.
43:10Beautiful.
43:12Anything else to go on the dish at all, Chef? No, this is it.
43:14Lovely. What's the powder there, Chef?
43:16Fermented wild garlic leaves.
43:26Service, please.
43:31Thank you. Very much.
43:33Oh, here he is. Hello.
43:35Hello, fellas. Hi, Chef.
43:36How's it going?
43:38Looks nice. Thanks.
43:44I love that it looks inedible,
43:46cos I know it's got to be super edible.
43:48Inedible, brilliant.
43:54Do you know what?
43:55I still think it's going to be delicious.
43:58Do you know what?
43:59I still think it's very delicious, I really do.
44:02Maybe not as savoury as it was last time, maybe?
44:05Less yeasty.
44:06Are you a fan of roasted yeast? Yeah, I love it, yeah.
44:08It's quite sweet as a dish. Yeah.
44:11I think there's a sweet and acidic balance that comes into it,
44:14and the pickled mustard seeds stirred through it,
44:16I feel that that's taken away from that yeasty,
44:19moss-like flavour that it had right at the beginning.
44:22However, all of the things that I loved about this dish
44:24are still very much there.
44:26One of the best starters of the day. Absolutely.
44:33Now the pressure lies with Sally.
44:35I'm just panicking.
44:36With her brioches baked, they're glazed with diluted yeast extract.
44:40Only perfection will do it.
44:42Truffle is shaved and carefully portioned
44:45before Sally's exacting standards
44:47means selecting only the best onion shells
44:50for her vegan cheese mash.
44:52So the final dish is from Sally,
44:55and it's called Nursed Back to Health.
44:58Roasted onion consomme with roast onion
45:01stuffed with vegan cheese mash.
45:03Fermented barley brioche with yeast extract butter.
45:08And the dish is inspired by Florence Nightingale.
45:11Everything about this dish I thought was outstanding.
45:13I scored it a perfect ten.
45:15Wow. As did I. Yeah.
45:17I scored this dish a nine. I thought it was fantastic as well.
45:20My only issue was that there was a marmite glaze on top of the brioche
45:23and it stuck behind my teeth.
45:24You've complained about something else sticking behind your teeth.
45:27Do you have false teeth?
45:29No.
45:31Can somebody just cut a little hole in that for me, please?
45:34Right. Emma, can you put those in the oven for, like, one minute, please?
45:37Yeah, at 180.
45:38Yeah, that's fine.
45:44So have you poached these or...?
45:46I just cooked them in the shells. OK.
45:48Can you... Sorry, a little bit bigger than that.
45:50So what are you dusting there? This is just a little bit of onion ash.
45:53Sally fills the onion shells with vegan mash.
45:57So good.
45:58Each is then sprinkled with a pickled onion caviar.
46:01Maybe... Can you just brush a little bit more of the glaze on top?
46:04Yeah. Thank you.
46:05Two minutes, Sally. Yep.
46:07Sally's brioches get a final yeasty-flavoured punch.
46:11Oh, they're back.
46:13Definitely want to start getting food onto your plate.
46:16Each dish is then garnished with truffle.
46:18You want to go on with the flowers for me, my love?
46:21Exactly like how you did the other one, yeah?
46:23Yeah, please, yeah.
46:24Last 30 seconds now.
46:26It's not the easiest of four, is it?
46:28This is... This is madness.
46:30Pressure mounting.
46:32The onion consommé is poured into feeder cups.
46:35OK. Well done.
46:37That is time, Sally. Let's be having you, darling.
46:42It's gorgeous.
46:44We got there. We got there. Thanks, guys.
46:46OK, service, please.
46:48I would love to.
46:51Oh, chefs!
46:53Come on in.
46:55Oh!
46:57Well, we know you drew the short straw.
47:00Thank you very much. Thank you.
47:03Pour, pour, pour. Let's pour our onion soup.
47:07Oh!
47:12The broth is beautiful.
47:14The lovely little roasted onion in the middle
47:16with the cheese mashing, it's fantastic.
47:18Consommé is, like, super clear, really rich.
47:21I mean, it's beautiful. Yeah, this broth is just...
47:23It's so deep, isn't it? It's so deep.
47:25It's so oniony and meaty and the onion's just cooked perfectly.
47:29Just that tiny bit of bite, but it's just exactly what you want.
47:32But cooked and warm and delicious.
47:34The highlight is the fermented barley brioche for me with the butter.
47:38That is just so good.
47:40Is the glaze hitting the back of your teeth?
47:43Yeah, a little bit.
47:44The bread is amazing, Sally.
47:46And that yeast extract butter is so good.
47:49This is the last dish of the day.
47:51I don't want this dish to end.
47:53What a way to end the day.
47:56Very clever, Sally. Guys, you've done amazingly today.
47:59I feel like you've all really been enjoying watching each other work.
48:02Is that right? Yeah, definitely.
48:04Well, that's good energy. I wonder how long that's going to last.
48:08Well, I'm going to go and see the judges
48:10and we'll see you all back in the chamber very shortly.
48:14It was a strong round. I thought everyone did really well
48:17and the food was all delicious.
48:19My dart instinct is probably Sally, Dan.
48:23I'm going Sally, Jack and Jean.
48:29I definitely think Jack and Jean are going to be up there in the top three
48:33and I really, really hope that I would be there with them.
48:36Yeah, so for top three, for me, it would probably be Sally.
48:38I think it was really, really good. Dan's was really, really tasty.
48:41It's a toss-up for the rest, I think.
48:45So, judges, how's the second half been?
48:48Lovely. We've had some great dishes.
48:50There's been improvement.
48:52We've had some very, very strong high-scoring dishes, in my mind.
48:56There's actually been a lot more highs in comparison to what there was previous
49:00throughout the weeks that we've had,
49:02but, yeah, there's definite favourite throughout that menu there.
49:05It's been delicious.
49:06It's a real statement of intent for the rest of the week, I think,
49:09because although only one dish can get to the banquet,
49:12I think they all need to be very happy with how it's gone today
49:15and just carry that through the rest of the week.
49:17You picked a good day, Gerinda.
49:19You certainly did. I've learnt a lot myself, too.
49:22Today, I think, has been about alchemy, you know,
49:25and who is in control of the magic.
49:28Same with acting. I always say with actors, you know,
49:31there will be an actor who will come on and do something in a scene
49:34and you'll just go, how did they do that?
49:36And it can't be taught.
49:38That's the magic.
49:39It's the magic.
49:40Gerinda, it's been so lovely to have you here.
49:42Thank you for having me.
49:43It really is.
49:44I've had a lot of fun.
49:45Right, shall we go find out what the fate is?
49:47Let's do it.
49:48Let's do it.
49:51I think a lot of my hopes are on the starter,
49:54and it's probably one of the best chances I have.
49:56I have no idea if that dish is good enough to reach the banquet.
49:59It's how I wanted it.
50:01There weren't any glaring mistakes.
50:04It was good to get the first course out of the way.
50:07I'd probably go Jack and Jean.
50:10I'm happy with the tweaks that I made.
50:14I think that Jack could just sneak through and get into the banquet.
50:18Personally, I don't think I've got a chance
50:20of getting the starter to the banquet.
50:21I thought it was good,
50:22but I definitely thought there was two or three up there
50:24that were really, really good.
50:26The anticipation is building.
50:27I just really want to find out what the results are.
50:31Definitely a few butterflies heading into judging chamber.
50:34I'd like to score highly.
50:35I don't want to come last, obviously.
50:37I think going into the chamber is always a bit nerve-wracking.
50:39Hoping it fared up pretty well to the other dishes,
50:41but you never know.
50:49Hello, chefs.
50:51It's been lovely watching you guys work today.
50:53I feel like you've really enjoyed each other's success in the kitchen,
50:56because you all done very well today.
50:58Congratulations, guys.
50:59It was a great day for us in here.
51:01Well done, everybody. Improvements all round.
51:03How was that first day in finals week in that kitchen?
51:07It was nice.
51:08It was OK.
51:09OK.
51:11Pleased to get that one out of the way.
51:14Calum, I remember this day well.
51:15First day of judging chamber in the kitchen.
51:17How's it been for you?
51:18Intense.
51:19I didn't score super high on my start last time,
51:21so I'm pretty happy with how it went.
51:23And being in here with all these guys is absolutely amazing.
51:25How about you, Daniel? How did you find the first day?
51:27It's been OK. I've been quite chilled.
51:29It's been really nice just tasting what the other chefs have cooked.
51:32You've been just making that caviar, haven't you?
51:35I've been in a world of my own.
51:37You really, really were.
51:39So, chefs, it is time to reveal the results.
51:43In last place today...
51:49..it's Amber.
51:51Chef, it was an improvement, but there were improvements all round.
51:55That sauce, though, is still absolutely outstanding.
51:58Thank you. Thank you, Amber.
52:02There were some incredible dishes that went out today,
52:06and I think they deserve to get through to the banquet.
52:09I really do.
52:11And in seventh place...
52:13..we have...
52:16..Stevie.
52:18Again, much improvement on your dish,
52:20but unfortunately the competition's been really tough today.
52:23But well done. Thank you.
52:25Thank you. Well done, Stevie.
52:29Hiya. Chef, how are you feeling?
52:31I knew the starter was my weak one, so...
52:33It's an interesting one. Tough competition.
52:35Yeah, 100%. It really is. 100%.
52:38And in joint fifth...
52:44..is Callum and Jean.
52:47Both of you, I mean, really good work today.
52:49It's just been a very, very strong field all round.
52:52Jean, we liked your dish. There was still slight temperature issues,
52:55but the improvements you made were very good as well.
52:57And Callum, massive improvement from you,
52:59and the addition of the risotto was great as well.
53:01So, well done, but it's been a very, very tough day.
53:04It's very competitive.
53:05It's getting joint fifth, that's well good.
53:07Thank you very much. Well done, chef. Yeah, same for you, man.
53:10Thank you, chefs. Well done. Enjoy.
53:14Jeez, well done, guys. Double team.
53:17Double team? Yeah.
53:19Well done, mate.
53:21Joint fifth.
53:23Any clue who you think will be ranking first?
53:26I loved Dan's dish.
53:28It looked really stunning, to be fair.
53:30Yeah, so I never got this one,
53:31but the next three are really kind of where I'm tatered towards,
53:34so I'll really be pushing hard tomorrow,
53:36and then every course from there I get stronger and stronger,
53:38so, yeah, looking forward to it.
53:40And in fourth place...
53:43..we have...
53:46..Jack.
53:47I still scored this dish really high.
53:49It still scored high across the board,
53:51but unfortunately we just didn't feel it was as well balanced
53:53as it was the first time we'd done it.
53:55It's just unfortunate.
53:56Thanks very much.
53:57Thank you very much, Jack, for seeing me.
54:00Hello.
54:01All right, Jack? How are we doing?
54:03Yeah, good.
54:04Tough, no? Yeah.
54:05How do you feel about that?
54:06Are you disappointed, Jack? Yeah.
54:08Who do you think's going to take it?
54:10Dan or Sally? Yeah.
54:12It was a bit gutting, to be fair.
54:14You know, I put so much effort into that dish
54:16and it meant quite a lot to me.
54:20And in third place...
54:22..it's...
54:24..Mark.
54:26Mark, well done.
54:27I mean, like we say, a lot of the dishes have improved today,
54:30but I think yours had the most startling improvements.
54:32We all loved it.
54:33I mean, replacing the book with a deep-fried potato book,
54:36I think, was an absolute masterstroke, so well done, you.
54:39Well done, Mark. Well done.
54:44Hello, chef. Hello.
54:46Oh, relieved. That was tense, that.
54:50Who do we think?
54:51Sally.
54:52Oh, no, I think Dan. I think Dan.
54:54I think Dan, too. Yeah.
54:56I was a little bit surprised.
54:57I expected it to be a bit lower down the pecking order, to be honest.
55:00So third's really cool.
55:02So that brings us to the two of you, Daniel and Sally,
55:06and your dishes, Welshman's caviar and nursed back to health.
55:10How does it feel to have got this far?
55:12Good.
55:13Yeah, I'm just stunned, to be honest.
55:15You've been here before, haven't you, mate?
55:17Yeah.
55:19Listen, it does come down to points,
55:23and both of you have improved your scores.
55:27There can, of course, only be one winner,
55:30and I can tell you now that cooking the starter at the banquet
55:34to celebrate 20 years of Great British Menu
55:37and historical figures from the past,
55:40with a perfect score of 40...
55:45..is...
55:49..Sally.
55:50Well done. Well done.
55:55Oh!
55:59Oh, amazing.
56:00Congratulations, Sally. Thank you.
56:02So well deserved.
56:03Well done, chef. Thank you, thank you.
56:05You got there.
56:06An absolutely great dish. Thank you.
56:08Outstanding.
56:09Every point felt like it was cared for, caressed, loved.
56:12Perfect. Great dish.
56:13Thank you. Thank you so much.
56:15Commiserations, Daniel.
56:16Your dish was amazing.
56:17The little, you know, lava bed caviar was fantastic.
56:20The smokiness of the potato, so well balanced,
56:22and it was a terrific dish, so you just missed out.
56:25Yeah, thank you.
56:26No, I loved Sally's dish, so... Thank you.
56:28Yeah. I loved yours as well.
56:30To be the winner.
56:31So it was good.
56:32Yeah, both of you absolutely smashed it.
56:34And you've given us a very, very good start to the week,
56:36and we're very excited for what's still to come,
56:38but well done, Sally.
56:39Well done, Sally. Thanks so much.
56:41And well done, Daniel, your dish was fantastic.
56:43If you'd like to go back to the kitchen and get your name on the list.
56:46Well done, chef. Thank you. Congratulations.
56:48Yes.
56:52Oh, my God, I'm over the moon.
56:54Over the moon.
56:55Yeah, just, um...
56:57..lots and lots of hard work and, you know, third time...
57:01..third time lucky.
57:03I never thought for a second that I'd be second.
57:05You know, I thought I'd be last, if not...
57:08..or one of the last, you know?
57:10I came here with unfinished business,
57:12and, you know, now I'm on the board of going to the banquet, so...
57:18Oh, here we are.
57:20That's good.
57:21Come on, then. Go on, then.
57:23CHEERING
57:25Well done. Yeah, well done.
57:30How about that?
57:31Well done, Sally. Good dish, that.
57:33Well done, Sally. Well done.
57:37Tomorrow, the highest-scoring chef from The Heats
57:40returns as a wild card to join the battle for the fish course.
57:44Now, that's what I call pressure.
57:48Hello, chefs.
57:51Well done. Thank you.
57:52How are you feeling, chef? Good, thank you.
57:54Oh, well done. How are you all doing?
57:56Good. Really good.
57:57All right, chefs, well, good luck to all of you
57:59for the rest of the week.
58:01Great cooking already.
58:02We're all very excited to see what happens
58:04for these next three courses.
58:06Bring it on, chefs, eh?
58:08All right.
58:11Next time...
58:13Oh, you put the fish in there? That's so cool.
58:15..it's the fish course...
58:17I'm a fan of this. I like it a lot.
58:19..and we throw our chefs a curveball.
58:22Taking their place will be my wild card.
58:27But who will reign supreme
58:29and get their name on the board for the banquet?
58:32I need someone to just tell me it's going to be OK.
58:35It's going to be OK, chef.