Original subtitles

It's the battle for Northern Ireland,

and our two highest-scoring chefs, Gemma and Kerry, are competing

for a place in the national finals.

They'll need to produce masterful flavour and visual impact to win

over this week's guest judge and best-selling author-illustrator.

Is Oliverjeffers here yet?

I want to show him my excellent drawing.

This week saw four ambitious chefs from Northern Ireland

battling it out. Woo!

There were highs and lows, but it was two Belfast chefs,

Gemma Austin, chef and owner of A Peculiar Tea,

along with Kerry Roper, head chef at Stix 8; Stones,

who finally made it through.

You are tied.

The pre-dessert that Aktar preferred was Kerry's.

The winner will go through to the finals and be one step closer

to getting a dish to our Great British Menu banquet,

celebrating 65 years of one of our most loved bears - Paddington.

Gemma, how are you getting on?

Returner Gemma scored the highest with 30 points,

and, like last year, wowed with her dessert.

It was one of the best chocolate ice creams I've ever had. Well clone.

She's taken inspiration from the animation Wolf walkers...

And breathe. Yep.

...as well as Seamus Heaney and The BFG.

Whilst newcomer Kerry's journey to cooking today was anything

but plain sailing.

Pie problems here.

She's putting all that behind her, taking veteran Aktar's advice

on board and hoping to impress with her dishes,

odes to The Gruffalo, the Wombles and a story by today's guest judge,

Oliver jeffers.

It will look like a crayon.

It will eat like a cheesecake.

We best buckle up as the drama isn't over yet.

Look at that.

I'm so excited.

There are surprises in store.

For the first time...

Kerry, we have a nice relationship now,

but she really wants it as well.

So, I think it's going to be a hard battle today.

Gemma's well-seasoned in this competition.

The scores this week have reflected that.

For me to come up to par

with that today, I just need to go in all guns blazing.

I want this more than I've ever wanted it.

This is the last chance for me.

You know, I always said I'd give it three goes.

I'm going to cook my socks off today.

Hello, Chefs. Hello, Andi. Kerry.

Your first time cooking for the judges. How does it feel?

Daunting, to be honest, but I didn't expect to get this far,

so I'm just glad to be here at this stage. Ah, well,

it's always good to exceed one's own expectations.

Absolutely. This has been a bumpy week.

Let's not... Let's not beat around the bush.

It's been quite a tricky week.

So, I think the best thing to do is put it all behind you.

Gemma, how does it feel to be back cooking for these judges?

Yeah, it's an hon our.

I wish you both all the luck in the world, and I'm rooting

for both of you, OK? Thank you.

Still breathing, mate? just about. Yeah.

Eager to avoid the timing issues they had previously, the chefs begin

with the long, slow processes that they need to get under way now.

This will ensure their food has deep flavours and perfect textures.

The first thing I'm going to do today is get the venison sauce on,

so it gets time to reduce. I'm going to do my pies first thing

and then get my canape ready.

Got lots and lots of prep to do, so

need to get my beef cheeks in first. Then I'll be making my pastry,

so I can get it rested and rolled. Time is tight.

Deciding who goes through to the final are our judges,

headed by Tom Kerridge.

He was the first chef to be awarded two Michelin stars for a gastropub.

He has four restaurants

and organises food festivals aplenty.

How long will that be?

What's more, he's walked in our chefs' shoes,

twice winning the banquet main course.

I think both chefs are going to be very nervous in that kitchen.

But if you can focus on your food,

that Northern Ireland soul will come through onto the plate

that we get to eat.

He'll be joined by Nisha Katona and Ed Gamble.

Nisha is a highly acclaimed Indian street food restaurateur...

How are our garnishes? Amazing.

...and food writer.

It's not just about the food, it's about the visual impact as well.

So, I'm looking for something that's absolutely delicious

but visually captivating.

While stand-up comedian Ed is a co-host of an award-winning food

podcast Off Menu...

Dusty meringues. This is one of your choices, James. Hate them.

...and a radio presenter.

Personally, I'm very much looking forward to tasting The BFG's BFG.

I'm going to take a punt that that stands for

The BFG's Big Fat Gateaux.

Nearly, Ed.

Both chefs have an epic amount of prep to do.

Kerry is making a stock for her buttermilk and mussel sauce,

and poaching smoked haddock in milk for an espuma

to accompany her fish dish...

Kerry, you OK, mate? Yeah.

It's just time pressure, isn't it? Yeah.

...while Gemma is getting her main under way, passing her venison sauce

before reducing to a rich, velvety consistency.

Have a mountain to climb today.

Obviously, all the dishes in one clay is a lot, so...

But really excited. just got to put the head down, keep going.

As the chefs crack on,

it's a chance for me to bring lead judge Tom up to speed

on the week's events.

It's been quite a week, Tom. Has it really?

What's happened, then? Well, one of the chefs has been on

a real steep learning curve, and she started off

with a bit of a disaster.

Luckily, we had Aktar Islam. Straight and blunt and to the point,

though, Aktar. Straight, blunt, to the point. He's very honest.

And very detailed. Yep.

One of them's been here before. This is her third time. OK.

So, we saw her last year. You did see her last year.

If we can get great-tasting food, cooked beautifully,

connected to the brief, we could be in for a good day.

Both chefs are acting on Aktar's advice.

Kerry so much so that she has a lot to nail today,

including searing beef cheeks for her main...

Big pressure to get the beef cheeks on.

...and making pastry for her pie...

It's the most important bit, really, the pastry has to be right.

So, just getting it chilled. Loads to do for the pie,

so just trying to make sure that it's perfect.

...while Gemma is also making her pie pastry and getting

it into the fridge to chill...

Are you OK? Yeah, I'm all right.

You good? Um...

Wouldn't describe it as good. No? Good's a push.

...and getting ahead on her starter by barbecuing hen-of-the-wood

and frying shimeji and shiitake mushrooms in oil, garlic,

thyme and rosemary.

How are we? Very well. Looking forward to a day of feasting.

Good, good, good. I am super pumped.

You also look like a cartoon illustration from a children's...

Yeah. Sort of a posh Bash Street kid.

Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm going for.

Well, you're rocking it. Some of us are sticking to the theme.

Yeah, I've had a good catch-up with Andi.

I think it's been a bumpy week.

Aktar was the mentor chef in there, so lots of positive feedback

that we hope they're going to act on,

so that today you get to eat something great.

I don't mind a bumpy week. Room for improvement.

All right, my loves. How's it going in here?

Warm. Warm! Warm already!

Now, our guest judge this week is Oliverjeffers...

Oh! Oh, my God. Amazing.

Whoa-oh! OK!

...who your dessert is inspired by. That's terrifying.

And what I'd like you to do is start working on your canapes.

You need to get them spot-on, because I really

want them impressed. And I know that you're impressive.

OK? Yes. Thank you, Andi. Lovely, ladies.

For her canape, Kerry is making a new beef fat delicate pastry case

and adding a bone marrow emulsion.

This is after Aktar's advice that I need to beef up the canape.

She's topping it with a beef tartare, slicing beef

and finely chopping chives.

Gemma is serving a cheese and onion gougere and crisp,

beating eggs and flour, and adding mature Cheddar and gruyere.

The advice from Aktar was to make it a wee bit smaller,

just obviously so it's a bit more canape sized.

So, I've just piped them a bit smaller.

She tops with Parmesan craquelin and bakes.

Today's guest judge is award-winning author and artist Oliverjeffers.

His work includes painting, illustration, collage and sculpture.

He's the author and illustrator of an impressive 19 books.

Welcome, Oliver. Hello. Hello.

How are you doing? Take a seat. Thanks so much for joining us.

My pleasure. I'm hungry. Good.

It's so good to have you here. You're a real sort of rock star

of the illustration world.

Well, you know, I've been doing it for 20 years, so something

might have gone right somewhere along the road.

This is what we need. We need an expert in the room.

So, Oliver, what do you think about the theme this year?

Well, you know, illustration and animation, they're very different.

Animation requires a whole team of people, it's film-making, in a way

that illustration is one individual,

closer to art-making.

The 65th anniversary of Paddington coming out is...

That's quite a spectacle. You know, just think about how much those

books have sort of been around. It's a wonderful thing to celebrate.

Ancl you're quite a foodie?

When I knew that I was going to be a judge in this, my wife

was sort of asking me, "Go on, describe this food."

I would say it like, "It's good?"

"You're going to have to do better than that."

Not much, to be honest!

Pretty cool having Oliverjeffers taste your food. Yeah.

I mean, no pressure, but it's lovely, isn't it?

Yeah, brilliant. It's a nice thing.

As the chefs get a move on to get their dishes

to the pass, Kerry mixes chives and shallot

into her beef tartare...

All good, Kerry? Mm-mm.

...and nestles into her tart cases.

Gemma pipes her cheese and onion filling into her gougere,

sprinkles with pickled onion dust,

and tops with chive flowers.

It's served with a crisp.

Kerry adds a mustard and bone marrow emulsion,

grated cured egg yolk, and coal oil.

Service, please, guys.

Always so excited.

Thank you.

First up, Gemma's Tayto cheese and onion gougere and crisp.

TOM: A great way to start the day.

Are we having the Tayto first? Yep. Chin, chin.

I thought that was delicious.

Ancl the filling is warm. Yeah.

It tasted like a Tayto. Mm. It really did.

You know, the sort of the tang of the onion and the softness

of the cheese reminds you of home.

I quite like that the chef put an actual crisp on it as well.

Yeah. It's a nice little chaser straight after you've had that

delicate canape with layers of flavours, just to be like,

"Oh, this is what it's an impression of."

Just that little sprinkle of acidity

that comes from that pickled onion dust, I thought that was great.

Will Kerry's beef tartare impress them as much?

We start with a bang with this.

This is great. You know what's strange?

When I read coal oil, I was like, "What is that going to taste like?"

But you actually sort of get a sense of that charcoal. You really do.

Yeah. I think that might be the coal. Those deep flavours of beef

and the bone marrow work so well, doesn't it?

Ancl then the crisp of the tart. There's a little smoky aftertaste,

which is lovely. The bone marrow emulsion, that's the thing

that just kind of layers and coats everything.

It really does bring it all together.

So, let's hold up the dish of the one we enjoyed the most.

OK, I'm going to go with that one.

You reckon, Tom?

I'm going to hold that one up so it's not a clean sweep. Fair.

But they're both fantastic.

3-1 to Gemma on the canapes, and it's straight onto starters.

Gemma's making a mushroom tartlet. Aktar scored

this dish a six, and said it wasn't mushroomy enough.

So, I'm just going to add a wee bit of raw mushroom on that as well,

just cos that's probably the strongest type of mushroom

you're going to get

OK. First starter in is called Howls Of The Forest,

and it's a tartlet of mushroom puree, Bramley apple chutney,

con fit mushrooms, smoked salsa Verde,

barbecue hen-of-the-woods, and truffle.

And it's based on the 2020 animation film Wolf walkers.

Now, I don't know this movie.

I do. It's wonderful.

It really speaks to the whimsical, folkloric culture of Irish history

and the mythical god-like creatures that live in the woods.

With her tart cases baked, she adds ground coriander and cumin

to toasted hazelnuts, walnuts and pistachios for her dukkah mix.

I'm just adding and tasting, adding and tasting untill get

the spice on that dukkah mix just right.

Aktar had quite a lot of suggestions for you.

Are you taking all of them on board?

I'm taking most of them on board.

The hen-of-the-woods, whenever I barbecue it,

I'm going to leave that on for longer so it gets a better smoke.

The pickled mushrooms, I've reduced the sweetness

and changed the actual pickle liquor.

Ancl then I'm going to add a bit of raw mushroom to the top.

Right. I'm taking the hazelnut praline out because he said

it was too sweet. Good idea.

Reducing the volume of the chutney that's going in,

reducing the amount of salsa verde going on.

Yes, cos there was a lot of that as well. There was. Fantastic.

Well, I can't wait to see what you're going to do, Gemma.

Gemma fries hen-of-the-woods mushrooms before roasting.

Those ingredients, as I was talking through it,

it felt like very woodland. Very forest-like.

Yeah. The forest floor, those sort of flavours.

Rich, earthy. Fingers crossed

it has all those things. Ancl there's literally

hen-of-the-woods in there, so the woods even gets mentioned.

Shout out to the woods.

First to the serving board is mushroom puree.

You have five minutes, Chef. Oui.

Next, Gemma adds mushroom chutney to her tart cases,

followed by the cooked mushrooms.

Remember, last time, this is where you got a little rushed,

so your proportions went a bit out.

Ancl then see the herbs around the far side there?

Yeah. If you just put them on those clots. One minute, Gemma.

This seems like you've got a lot more flavour.

Yeah, I've definitely upped the mushrooms.

Grated truffle tops them off,

hen-of-the-woods mushrooms are added to the board,

followed by the tarts and the dukkah mix.

You're due at the pass now, Gemma. Oui.

Service, please, guys.

HOWLING

Wow, look at this. Oh, my goodness.

Sound effects and everything.

That's great. Thank you.

I love the howling. It really brought this thing alive.

I love the theatre of it all.

I like the way that we've already got to negotiate our way

through the woods before we get to the food!

You'll have earned it. Yeah. We'll go foraging now.

The sort of clust of the nuts and the seeds and stuff is just a bit

dry on the side.

Yeah, that hen-of-the-woods as well,

it's been roasted with some oriental kind of flavours going over the top.

I love that. Do you, though? I love that hen-of-the-woods.

It doesn't really go with an apple chutney or a salsa Verde.

I mean, it's kind of like taking lots of different flavours

from all over the world and sticking it on a woodland floor. It's just...

It's not right. It didn't feel foresty.

No. It looks foresty.

But I feel like how it tastes and how it looks are mismatched.

For her starter, Kerry is frying Jerusalem artichokes.

Aktar scored this a three.

A point was deducted for significant lateness, plus he said

the star of the dish should have been the artichoke.

But already the artichokes are causing Kerry problems.

This is the second batch of crisps. I burnt the first ones.

While they crisp up,

she blends vegan egg whites with lovage and herb oil

for her emulsion.

A bit tight for time now,

so really need to get set up here.

How are you feeling about your starter course?

Well, I've made the changes.

You had absolute nightmare problems with your chestnut flour pastry.

Yep. So, we're just going to scrap the tart completely.

It'll be artichoke in different ways.

We're still going to keep the lovage, and we're going to work

on the texture. Are you adding anything else onto the plate?

There'll be a pickled element with the Jerusalem artichoke.

A little bit of black garlic puree. Nice.

First all on a plate together today. So, pressure's on.

Put a wriggle on it when you need to and you should be absolutely

fine, my darling, yeah? Thank you very much.

I'm hoping for a better score than a three.

Fingers crossed, with the changes that I'm making,

the dish should be much more pleasant.

She passes baked potatoes for her espuma, and also keeps

an eye on her fish course, curing trout in salt.

So, this is The Gruffalo Trail. Jerusalem artichoke, lovage,

hazelnut, black garlic, and a sunflower seed

and linseed cracker.

Ancl the inspiration behind this dish is the Gruffalo Trail

in Colin Glen Forest Park in Belfast.

Yeah. I did this trail recently with my kids.

To serve, Kerry plates roasted artichoke...

Can I borrow your tweezers? Yeah. Of course. My eyebrows just...

GEMMA LAUGHS

...followed by pickled artichoke and her lovage emulsion.

That's two minutes, Kerry, please.

Yep.

Her black garlic puree is added, then pureed artichoke

and pickled hazelnuts.

Could you grab my linseed crackers? Some of this

broken up or...? A little bit, please, yeah.

That sort of size? Yeah, that's perfect.

To finish, Kerry adds Jerusalem artichoke skins...

You are due on the pass now, please, Kerry.

Is that the last thing going on now?

No, there's two more.

...and tops with the linseed cracker and micro herbs.

Service, please.

Thank you.

I'm struggling to find too many elements that are standout.

All the textures seem slightly off for me.

I hear what you're saying about the lack of a standout

kind of flavour.

This is not a great dish. The smell of it when it arrived, I thought,

"Great, I can smell the lovage. It's amazing."

Lots of lovage. But this is so clunky.

This is so all over the place.

That Jerusalem artichoke feels old and woody.

The linseed cracker is not a cracker at all.

It's chewy. Mm. The crispiest things about it were the little bits

of deep-fried artichoke. They were nice.

You're right about this. This is the highlight of the dish,

the deep-fried bits of artichoke.

The presentation is nice, but it doesn't really do anything

to speak to either the Gruffalo or a trail.

You have to be told in advance what it's related to.

Yeah. We've always got to remember, this is for a banquet.

Is this a banquet-worthy starter?

It's straight onto fish.

Gemma's dish is called Na Daoine Sidhe,

and earlier in the week, Aktar scored it an eight.

So far, so good. I'm on track but that doesn't mean

anything right now, so got to keep going.

This first one is called Na Daoine Sidhe, and it's hake, champagne

and vermouth sauce, pickled kohlrabi, verjus grapes,

sea vegetables, crispy capers and battered bits,

cluck fat hash brown and curry oil.

Ancl it's inspired by Song Of The Sea,

and the film takes inspiration from the mythological selkies

of Irish folklore who live as seals in the sea

but become humans on land.

That is a lot to pack into a dish, the life of a selkie.

Let's see how this goes. I'm hoping to see the serving staff dressed

as seals and then turn into humans as they bring the dishes in.

There's a lot of exciting words on there.

Duck fat hash brown. Yeah! Curry oil.

That sounds delicious. Crispy capers. Yeah. Big fan of hake.

Quite flaky, though, if it overcooks.

So, like, the fish will fall apart.

You want it to still have a bit of texture to it.

She's making her champagne and vermouth sauce by sweating

shallots with button mushrooms and garlic...

We can do this. We can do this.

...and mixing butter with curry powder and turmeric

to cook her hake in.

Aktar did have some pointers for you. He did.

What were they? To make that sauce a bit looser.

So, I'm going to finish that with some champagne.

The tarragon oil didn't really add anything,

so what I'm going to do is chop some fresh tarragon and dill

into the sauce. Right, good idea.

I have made a new curry oil with more spices in it.

Do you feel confident? The time is just... It just doesn't exist.

It's just... It's just absurd. It's nutty, nutty, nutty, isn't it?

OK, I'm going to let you get on cos you've got a lot to do.

I hope it goes really well. Thank you.

Woo!

Gemma adds champagne to her sauce, along with stock and cream.

How are you doing? Yeah, you know, ticking along.

Still here.

She fillets her hake, brines in kombu,

and fries her capers and batter scraps.

Who are your real heroes, then, Oliver?

Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake.

That combo was so eye-opening growing up.

I think it's the authenticity and genuineness

with which that storytelling really grabs children.

And, you know, it's an opportunity to practise being scared,

as Neil Gaiman always said, it's like it's an opportunity

to practise being scared for the real world when you grow up,

cos it can be a scary real world.

Kids have a real instinct to when

they're being spoken down to, I think.

Yes, I would sometimes talk to art college students

and they have the decency to pretend that they're interested when you're

speaking to them. Whereas five- and six-year-olds do not.

Yeah. If they're not interested, you will know very, very quickly.

Harsh audience.

You have three minutes, Gemma.

Oui. How are you feeling? Under pressure.

Yeah.

Gemma deep-fries the pressed duck fat hash browns,

and-pan fries her hake.

It's one of my favourites of your dishes. Was it? Yeah.

Oh, that's nice. Thank you.

She gets Kerry involved to chop dill and tarragon for her champagne

and vermouth sauce.

Just really fine? Really, really fine, yep.

Gemma finishes her hake in curry butter.

Smells great. Yeah. You definitely get that curry now, don't you?

She seasons with a salt and malt vinegar powder,

and the hash browns are topped with pickled kohlrabi.

Two minutes over, Gemma. Oui.

Gemma carefully positions her hake, adding crispy bits and capers...

50/50 or more scrap than caper'? 50150.

...followed by sea purslane, verjus grapes,

champagne and vermouth sauce is served on the side.

Woo! Service, please, guys.

SHIP'S HORN, GULLS CAW

It's presented under dimmed lights to sounds of the sea.

Thank you very much.

WAVES CRASH

What do you think, Ed?

I think it's much nicer than it read on the menu.

Texturally amazing as well.

There's loads of fun bits to play with.

I think the sauce is delicious. The way the curry sits

with the champagne sauce, I was going to be worried about.

But you're right. It's really, really good.

The beef fat hash brown, like a chip. It's delicious.

Actually, my only disappointment is the hake is a bit overcooked.

It's gone a bit stringy.

Yeah, but actually, it's a bowl of flavours.

It's a good dish. What do you think, Oliver?

Well, again, there was a lot there, and I couldn't really decipher

what was what. So, when I just let it wash over me, pun intended,

it was a very enjoyable flavour. But all in all,

I like the idea of this, but I feel the presentation

is a little bit big and clunky and cumbersome.

I got the flavour of the seaside. There's that bit of curry oil

that kind of is a curry sauce on your fish and chips.

It's that fish and chip hit, you are by the seaside.

The little bits of... You know, the crispy bits of batter.

For that, it's beautifully clone.

How are you finding judging clay so far? It's pretty hectic.

Yeah. I didn't think it was easy, but I didn't think it was this hard,

put it that way.

Next up, Kerry's fish dish, The Fog Catcher.

Aktar scored it a six.

We have The Fog Catcher. Chalk stream trout fillet,

mussel and buttermilk sauce, served with a potato puree

and smoked haddock infused...espuma? Foam.

Oh. The inspiration for this dish is the illustrated book

The Fog Catcher's Daughter by Marianne McShane.

And the story takes place on a fictional island, inspired

by the coastline of Donaghadee, County Down, which is actually not

far from where I live now.

With her chalk stream trout fillet curing, Kerry prepares pickled

cucumber for Tom instead of the mussels,

as he has a shellfish allergy.

This is fish sauce.

What were the feedback notes from Aktar on this dish?

He said that my fish was a little under for a banquet.

I still want it pink, but I'm going to make the fish the same colour

almost right the way through. How are you cooking it differently?

I'll be starting it in the pan, and then I'm going to leave it

in a brown butter, held at 45 degrees.

And any other changes happening on this dish?

He said that the consistency of my sauce was over-reduced,

so I'm going to make sure that that's as good as it

possibly can be. Are you hoping for a higher score?

A six from Tom would be... But you want a higher score.

Come on, let's dream big!

It would be nice. Dream big.

Following Aktar's feedback to the letter, Kerry adds milk infused

with smoked haddock to her baked potatoes,

for her espuma.

Mussel sauce, we have pickled mussels.

Leeks are there. Roe is there. Dill we've got. Crisps.

It sounds like it's going to be rich and creamy

and buttermilk sauce. Buttermilk sauce, Tom.

And then the pickled cucumber sitting over the top.

It feels like it could really be nicely balanced, warming.

Give you kind of a hug kind of dish.

It's almost got the sort of fish pie sound to it. Yeah. The potato

puree, the smoked fish.

We've got mussel and buttermilk sauce, and I guess Tom's...

I've got cucumber. Got enough MUSCLES! Yeah.

I've got such high...

Kerry pan-fries the trout in brown butter.

You have three minutes. Are you going to need a little extra time?

I might need a little extra.

She adds dill and tarragon to the sauces...

That's for TK.

TK, what's that? Tom. Oh, Tom Kerridge!

...pickled cucumber for Tom and trout caviar.

You've got one minute to the pass.

You might want to start thinking about plating. Yep.

Kerry starts by adding her potato puree with smoked haddock espuma,

which she then tops with the chalk stream trout fillet.

She spoons on the pickled mussels for the other judges,

followed by the crispy trout skins.

Nearly four minutes over. OK.

She tops with trout caviar and dulse.

30 seconds.

It's served with extra mussel stock.

Tom's.

And that's Tom's sauce.

Service, please.

GULLS CAW, WAVES CRASH

Thank you, this is exciting.

Oh, it's Dulce. Seaweed seasoning.

So there's sauce already on there.

But is this just a sort of backup sauce or a different one?

Double sauce.

Double sauce!

Whoa!

My sauce is delicious.

Ancl the pickled cucumber and you've got mussels,

but that kind of little bit of acidity.

Ancl I love the seasoning.

This is a lovely little dish, this. It really is.

When you've got the fish,

so it's just got that slight little bit of translucency left,

it's perfect.

It's just such a lovely warming, homely feel

to that the potato puree,

which is beautiful, and that creamy sauce.

It's really bracing, isn't it?

It's a real sort of high hat clash of flavour.

It's gorgeous. Crackers are amazing. And they're great.

And the pop of the roe is fabulous.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this.

With the sound effects and with this presentation,

I think it's very well clone.

It absolutely is. It's delicious.

I love it.

For me, it's a good sign if you can eat a dish like this

just using your spoon.

If you guys weren't here, I would've just eaten it with no cutlery!

Two courses out, two to go.

Deep breath.

You're coming to the peak of the mountain now.

Mains up. Let's go.

Good luck.

I'm off to see the judges and to catch up with our guest, Oliver.

Hello! How are you all doing?

We're good.

Now, did you know that you've been celebrated in this chamber before?

Because Alex from Northern Ireland...

Yes. ..did your beautiful book?

Yeah, the Incredible Edible Book dessert, yeah.

Which was magnificent,

at our children's literature banquet.

It really was wonderful.

So, Tom, have there been any highlights for you?

For me, the canapes were really, really strong, like some

of the best I've eaten.

Ancl then we suddenly hit a massive bump.

We started strong and we've ended strong.

The less said about the middle, the better. OK, so canapes, great,

starters, not so great. Fish course, better? Yes.

The last fish dish especially was excellent.

Do you know what? It's the ambition, really, of the chefs.

Ancl when they pull it off, it's brilliant.

So how have they done on storytelling for you, Oliver?

Well, some of it I think, was a bit off the mark and some

of it I was struggling to find what the connection was there.

All in all, I'm hoping to see something that takes that

to another level in a delicate and finessed way.

That's certainly on the way.

In the kitchen, before the chefs get stuck into their mains,

they're getting ahead with a bit of dessert prep.

Gemma was disappointed with her cherry glaze when she cooked it

for Aktar, so trying to get it right this time, she adds gelatine

to sugar, cream and white chocolate and mixes in food colouring.

Under pressure?

Yeah, definitely feeling it.

You? Yeah, feel sick.

Gemma also churns her chocolate ice cream and makes meringue,

then folds in cocoa powder and pipes

ready for later.

Onto her main course.

Gemma has made her pastry, she adds

artichoke, chestnuts and blue cheese to her pie.

Kerry has also made pastry for her pie and cooks beef cheeks

in stock and herbs in the pressure cooker.

So what do you think they're thinking out there, Gemma?

I don't know. You never know when you're in here

what they're thinking. But, yeah, hopefully they're enjoying it.

Gemma also makes a start on her pre-dessert, melting yuzu chocolate

and pouring into heart moulds to set.

Kerry lines her pie with celeriac while making a roux,

which will thicken her pie sauce.

She trims her beef tongue and dices with Aktar's feedback

ringing in her ears.

Aktar's advice was to dice it.

It's had a nice brine on it.

It's been cooked at 64 degrees overnight,

so a dice should eat better.

First main course is Madam Cholet's Pie, which is beef tongue and cheek

pie with champ, roasted hispi cabbage and beefjus.

Ancl the inspiration behind this dish comes from the Wombles' love

of recycling things that everyday folk leave behind and using the

parts of the cow which ordinarily would be left behind.

Nice idea.

Nice idea.

I hope visually, it ties into the Wombles as well because that can be

a beautiful thing. Yeah.

You got a seven for this, scores were creeping up

throughout the week. What was Aktar's feedback for you?

Aktar told me to lose the crumb. On the cabbage?

Yeah, and after eating it myself, I completely agree.

Also, that gives you more time. Exactly right.

Yeah, we like time. We like time.

Now, we had issues when we cut into the pie.

We've had lots of liquid.

Making a mess on this, guys, apologies.

So we've got a little hole in the top to allow steam. Great.

Ancl we've also lessened the liquid.

And how is your champ?

Working my potato much less and hoping for a nice creamy champ.

Lovely, loads of butter, good seasoning.

Yep, good seasoning. Loads of butter.

Balance, balance, balance.

Kerry pours stock into the roux.

I'm just going to thicken it now

and then make sure that I use much less.

She adds parsley, followed by the beef cheeks

and more celeriac to her pie.

Another Aktar recommendation.

Spinach has been removed.

I don't think it was doing what I needed it to be doing.

I'm kind of curious about which parts of the cow

are ordinarily left behind.

The tongue - it fell out of fashion, coming back in.

Cheek's a big thing now.

Kerry cuts a pastry lid to size, egg washes and adds a finishing touch

to hammer home that Wombles theme.

With her pie cooking,

she preps her dessert, tempering the white chocolate,

first, heating it up, cooling and heating up again.

And still on her dessert, she makes her puree, reducing

blackcurrants with sugar and lemon, and blends.

Got some feedback about my jam from Aktar.

So I'm making a nice puree, I'm going to pass it to get rid

of all the seeds. So it should be more pleasant on the mouth.

As Kerry gets ready to serve, she pan-fries the hispi cabbage

in beef fat and butter and adds chives and spring onion

into her champ.

Doing it in a piping bag and then piped in here.

Mash in a piping bag, yep. You have five minutes, my love.

Trying to avoid being late to the pass again, Kerry enlists

the help of Gemma to release the pie from the tin.

It didn't go smoothly yesterday.

It's coming.

It's coming. Is that it?

It's coming, it's just under here.

Ah-ha! You got it?

Nice! Yes!

Woo!

She transfers it safely onto a tray.

One, two, three.

Down.

Is it on? Bags, please.

We going in?

Oh, look at that, baby!

Yes!

All right, so we are a minute over.

Just doing cabbage now, so probably another minute.

The champ is piped, sauce decanted

and finally, hispi cabbage is on the plate.

OK. Service, please.

Pie. pie, pie!

# Underground, overground, wombling free

# The Wombles of Wimbledon Common are we

# Making good use of the things that we find

# Things that the everyday folks leave behind...# I'm so excited!

Really?!

The pie, I can see it from here, a little sneak.

Whoa. Whoa!

Oh, it's a beautiful thing.

Look at that.

What does it say on the top?

Lots of Ws. Lots of Ws.

Or are they Ms?!

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah.

The Mumbles of Mimbledon?!

Whoa, it's watery.

Oh, it is quite watery as well. Wow.

I like the idea of lining it with celeriac.

I think that's very clever.

It's a really nice way of adding in extra texture and flavour,

but it's not quite worked in terms of the wateriness of the pie.

Yeah.

The pastry needs a bit more cooking.

The beef filling for me, the cheek is absolutely delicious.

I love the meat and I love the little squares of tongue

in there, really delicious.

The butteriness of the pastry and the richness of, I suppose,

the fat and those cuts of meat, it's a really great combination.

But then there's the hispi and there's the champ

and they just feel slightly ancillary.

That champ needs another whack of salt, I think.

As an Irishman, how is the champ? I would agree.

I think it needs something else, maybe a little bit more salt

or some more butter to complement pure potato flavour.

The hispi as well, I feel like if you're going to scorch it a bit,

you should really go for it.

It's a bit unloved, isn't it, the hispi?

So everything about this is good.

It just needs a bit more.

Gemma is up next with her main.

You good? Yeah, just about.

She secures the pastry lids on her pies

and egg-washes before baking.

OK, this is The Moral Of The Story.

Venison loin, Jerusalem artichoke,

chestnut, caramelised onion

and blue cheese pie, apple fondant, blackberry puree and venison sauce.

Nobel Prize winning Northern Ireland poet Seamus Heaney translated,

modernised and animated Aesop's Five Fables, which were narrated

by Billy Connolly. Wow!

In your flow? Hopefully. In your magique? Always!

Standard, babes, standard!

So, a stonker of a dish, this one.

You got an eight. I did.

What was the feedback from Aktar? To lose one of the blackberry

elements, either the pickled blackberry or the puree.

So I've removed the puree, but I have made a Jerusalem artichoke

puree because some of the feedback was, there wasn't enough Jerusalem

artichoke to balance what was in the pie. Wonderful.

She pushes on, sweating Jerusalem artichokes with shallots

for a new puree.

Pie! Ancl there's pie.

Very banquety, though, doesn't it?

I mean, got high hopes again.

It's the Jerusalem artichokes again.

And I'm just kind of hoping it wasn't the chef who did

the starter, because we know where they got their Jerusalem

artichokes from.

I would bet that this is the other chef.

Ancl it sounds beautiful, doesn't it?

I love the way that blue cheese is used.

So it counterbalances venison really, really well.

So it's a pie-off.

Gemma gets ready to plate her main, cutting blanched Cavolo Nero

into smaller leaves and barbecuing.

She pans-sears seasoned venison

and fries Jerusalem artichoke crisps.

You have five minutes.

Yes, Chef. Woo! Look at that venison.

And it looks like it's about to go into that butter, right?

Is there sauce left over? Yes.

Could you just put a wee tiny bit through into the pie?

The pie is first to the plate,

followed by apple fondant and artichoke puree.

She tops with a pickled blackberry.

Are you happy with the cooking on that, Gemma?

Oh, yeah. Fantastic.

Nice crust on it anyway. Yeah, beautiful.

You're two minutes over, Chef.

Yes, coming now.

Jerusalem artichoke crisps and the Cavolo Nero leaves

are added, followed by a spoonful of venison sauce.

Service, please, guys.

I'll take them. Thank you, Andi.

Grab the door for me, girls. Yep.

I'll be right back.

We needed help. So, literally, the world's worst waitress.

Enjoy, people. Thank you, Andi.

The Moral Of The Story, based on Seamus Heaney's translation

of the Five Fables,

this dish is made up of the food referenced in the fables

so venison pie, cheese, nuts, berries.

The pie again, really nice, but just pack it a bit fuller.

It's crazy, isn't it,

how just an under filled pie makes you feel so deflated?

I really enjoyed the flavour of that, though, I have to say.

The idea of lining it with the root vegetable on the inside,

with the Jerusalem artichoke, I think is great.

The chestnuts in it, I think are pretty pointless.

They don't taste of very much. Give me more meat.

Again, the pastry here, very, very good.

There's a subtlety to this that really is quite beautiful.

Yeah, I was very excited about the blue cheese

and I'm very much enjoying this pie.

This is such good venison, and I wanted more of it.

Yeah. None of it is quite tying together, but it's very good.

The one thing that I do love, but it's not right, is the gravy.

It's a very simple roasted bone kind of stock, but it's too watery.

If you had the two dishes in front of you again,

which would you go for?

Leaky pie. Probably the leaky pie, to be honest.

This one, I think, definitely not banquet-worthy yet, but has most

definitely got potential.

Just two courses left,

and the competition is impossible to call

as the chefs move on to their pre-dessert.

Kerry fills her baking tray

with a brown butter base for her apple crumble called

Paddington's Prison Patisserie

and a nod to Paddington 2.

Gemma removes her chocolate heart filled with a mango cremeux

and pineapple and mango salsa, and sprays with a red colouring

for he: pie-dessert, fight Up To The Moon And Back,

which is inspired by the book,

Guess How Much I Love You.

All right, darlings, two minutes to pre-dessert.

How are we doing? Ready. lsh.

How are you doing, Kerry?

A bit tight.

Bit tight? Down to the wire.

Both pre-desserts need to be served together, but Kerry is having

time issues once again.

Gemma is adding her finishing touch of ginger crumble while Kerry's

crumble is still cooking.

That's two minutes extra.

Yep.

You OK, Kerry? Yep. Plating now.

Coming up to three minutes over, guys.

Gemma encloses her hearts in illustrated boxes,

while Kerry quickly tops her brown butter base

with apple puree and then dunks in the crumble topping.

Four minutes over time now.

She parcels them up in presentation boxes,

ready to serve.

They're excellent.

Service, please.

Oh, thank you, one each?

It's like Christmas.

It's so lovely.

It's Kerry's present first.

The way it's presented, it's all a bit clunky and a bit hard

to eat with your fingers, it's all a bit...

It's a lot of packaging.

But what you get, oh, my God, it's amazing!

It's beautiful flavour. The flavour of that is incredible.

Does it reference Paddington 2? I can't remember - do they put them

in boxes? In a mild way, yes.

Because the uniforms all get dyed pink because of the red sock.

Yeah. It was absolutely delicious.

It was really good. Yeah. Oh!

Oh, gosh, that's beautiful.

You know, the way this falls away, there's so much more

theatre about it.

I like the yuzu.

I think that's a really unusual combination of ingredients.

Ancl I love that the ginger crumble is a little bit salty as well,

which is just perfect. It's really good, yeah.

I prefer the flavour of the first one with the presentation of this.

Have they sort of got together and said, "We're really going to nail

"canapes and pre-desserts..." Because they're amazing.

This one's a little tricky to eat.

I think the presentation on both of them could use just a little bit

of tweaking, but actually everything about it, it's lovely.

I don't know which I prefer, to be honest.

Got to choose one, mate.

I'm going to go with this one.

So that's 3-1 to Paddington.

It's the final course.

As Kerry parses her crayon filling of white chocolate mascarpone,

creme fraiche and Baileys.

Aktar scored her dessert a four, criticising

the colour, snap and sheen of her tempered

chocolate crayon shell.

Good to go.

So our first dessert is The Green Crayon.

It's an edible crayon of white chocolate, mascarpone cheesecake,

blackcurrant and bay leaf.

Ancl the inspiration is Northern Ireland artist

and illustrator Oliverjeffers and his book The Day The Crayons Quit.

Well, now, the chances of there being another Oliverjeffers

from Northern Ireland who has a book called The Day The Crayons Quit

are quite slim, so I'm going to assume that's me.

I think we can assume it's you. Yeah. And my book.

Kerry adds food colouring to white chocolate and lines moulds

to form her outer crayon shell.

What have you done to address Aktar's concerns?

I've taken his recommendation on dyeing my chocolate. Rather...

Rather than spraying my chocolate.

I'm tempering rather than hacking.

That's good! What about your jam?

So I've made quite a tight blackcurrant puree

to go through. Have you passed it? Ancl I've passed it.

Fabulous. Because, no pressure,

but the man who actually inspired this dessert is sitting

in the judges' chamber!

Well, hopefully he'll like it.

I think he's going to love it.

And if you get your technical difficulties ironed out,

it's a pretty great dessert, Kerry. Fingers crossed.

Kerry puts the chocolate crayon shells into the freezer to set.

So this should be a proud moment for you. Yeah, it is.

I'm honoured! But a lot of pressure on the chef.

Oh, well, I don't know if they knew that I was going to be here when they came up with it, so.

Well, it depends when they find out, really. If they find out as they're plating up,

I'd imagine it's just going - ooh-uh!

Can you imagine? It would be terrifying.

The shakes are pretty bad. Shakes are pretty bad?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I get that.

With her outer shell set,

she fills it with her blackcurrant puree, bay

and white chocolate filling and candied almonds,

and puts it back into the freezer.

How do you feel about Oliverjeffers eating your crayon?

I hope he likes it. Exciting? Yeah, very excited. Fingers crossed.

After a few minutes in the blast chiller,

Kerry removes her crayons from the moulds.

I'm very nervous. I just need to get this out.

It's nearly there. You mean there's no more courses after this?!

Remember, this is the third year in a row

I've put myself through this. Like, you're a champ. Why?

She rolls in the edible paper she's had printed.

They look even more crayonlike, no? They're amazing.

Service, please.

Steady, please.

Thanks so much.

Thank you.

I got goose bumps. Yeah!

It's pretty.

Work out what to do with it. So you pick it up and draw, can you?

Oh, you can a bit! Yeah.

You can, actually! Oh, wow!

It's amazing!

Love it? I LOVE it!

It looks fantastic on the plate. There's nothing, there's no faff,

there's no... No. It's so beautiful to look at.

Kept the spirit of the book, which is simplicity.

The flavours inside are just so good.

You get the bit of bay leaf

that you wouldn't normally with the blackcurrant.

The mascarpone is amazing.

I agree with you on a lot of counts. There's a slight distribution issue.

That's the issue. My first mouthful, it was just the blackcurrant.

I was like, "Ooh, that's tangy."

See, I just had a whole block of that white chocolate,

which is delicious, don't get me wrong.

That cheesecake is really light and fresh

and almost palate-cleansing.

And then you've got the sweetness and depth of the jam.

If the only thing that you can find to complain about is

the distribution, then I think it's doing pretty well.

Ancl I think that's the point I was making.

This is an ode to you and your work. It's incredible.

Are you pleased with it? I'm beyond flattered and that they got it.

Mmm! They kept the spirit of it.

It's a green crayon on a white page, essentially.

Stick your tongue out. Is it blue? Let's have look.

Let's have a look.

Oh, brilliant!

With Kerry's dessert going down well, Gemma needs to nail hers.

She lines the cherry moulds with the amaretto and mascarpone cream

and fills with cherry compote and almond joconde sponge.

Feeling really under pressure. Dessert, it just takes so long.

I have to set it, I have to freeze it, take it out and glaze it

and then defrost it. So I have still

a mountain to climb at this stage.

She then adds hazelnuts and almond filling

and covers with more amaretto and mascarpone cream

and quickly places in the freezer.

For the last dessert, we have The BFG's BFG.

Amaretto mascarpone cream, hazelnut and almond feuilletine

with cherry compote and almond joconde,

chocolate ice cream sitting on a bed of mixed nut crumble,

served with a glass of Frobscottle and watch out for the Whizzpoppers.

So this is inspired by The BFG, written by Roald Dahl,

illustrated by Quentin Blake.

It's an interpretation of Black Forest Gateau -

I guess, yeah, The BFG again there -

and what The BFG may have eaten at tea with the Queen.

Now, you were a bit upset about your glaze, weren't you?

I was. But you still got an eight. I did. I got an eight.

The main problem with the glaze was that I left it too late to do it.

So, I made sure I clone that just before I started my main course,

just to make sure it has time to cool.

OK. Part of Aktar's feedback was that he missed cake.

So, I'm going to put an almond joconde inside. Very good.

You're still getting the almond flavour and then the almond brittle

that I had inside the cherry,

I'm going to put through my nut mix that's gone on the outside. Nice.

Feeling a wee bit under pressure.

I don't know if I'm going to be on time with my dessert.

I don't want to serve it frozen,

so I would rather be late

than give them something I'm not happy with it.

With her amaretto and mascarpone cherries set,

she carefully dips them into the glaze.

Much happier with that glaze than with the last ones.

She pops them back into the freezer to set

but needs to leave enough time to defrost them before serving.

Kerry, would you be able to jump on to the cocktail?

Cocktails now? Yeah, please.

Gin and sugar soda infused with basil and juniper are mixed

for the Frobscottle drink.

That's a clever intermingling of...

Yeah, Black Forest Gateau and BFG. Black Forest Gateau and BFG.

It's clever. Yeah.

Gemma is plating up, adding mixed nut crumble

and caramelised almonds followed by the cherries.

Looks amazing. Got to be chuffed with them, are you?

Really happy with the glaze on that one. Yeah.

Chopped hazelnut and almond feuilletine are added to the plate,

and the Frobscottle is topped up with champagne.

The shine is lovely. I'm really delighted with that, yeah.

Quenelles of ice cream and a meringue twig finish the dish.

Service, please.

Thank you very much. Whoa! Thank you.

That is fun. Fabulous.

It's nice that Tom finally has a table at the right height for him.

LAUGHTER

The BFG's Black Forest Gateau. This is a dish for the imagination.

Dine, as the BFG once did at Buckingham Palace,

with grandfather clocks as table legs,

and wash it all down with some tasty Frobscottle.

But watch out for the Whizzpoppers.

That cherry filling is absolutely

one of the most marvellous cherry fillings I've had.

Big, generous lumps of it.

It's got the spectacle. It's got the flavour.

The centre of that Black Forest gateau is so delicious.

I have a bit of a problem with the cherry filling.

I think it's a bit overpowering and it's a bit synthetic.

I love the cherry flavour. Exactly. I love it.

It's part of the naivety of it all and part of the playfulness.

It's great fun, super childish.

Yeah, to me that was definitely, there was a little too much

of that flavour because it took away from the subtleties of everything

else that was going on around it,

which at first bite just seemed so lovely and subtle, and delicate.

SLURRED: Has anyone tried the Frobscottle?

LAUGHTER

It's delicious. Mmm! It's really punchy.

I thought that was a beautifully presented dish.

Oh, we have finished today on super highs. We have.

My word! CHEERING

Well clone. Well clone.

That was amazing. Come here. Whoo!

Bring it in. Bring it in. Bring it in. Bring it in.

THEY SHOUT JOYOUSLY

Both chefs have worked their socks off to produce all six dishes,

and now the scores are in.

Welcome, Chefs. How are you doing?

HAPPY-HAPPY? Happy we're at this stage.

It sounds like you've had a roller-coaster of a week

in the kitchen. And it would be fair to say that we've had a bit

of a roller-coaster in here today as well.

It most definitely finished on super highs

with desserts, like outstanding.

Ancl on that, who cooked The Green Crayon? I did.

That, honestly, I thought it

was absolutely magical.

Stunning, stunning dish, Chef.

Well clone. Thank you very much.

And, you know, speaking from a position of knowing something

about that book, it really represented the book so well.

Gemma, you cooked The BFG.

Is that right?

You create really immersive dishes

that are just full of imagination.

So, as we didn't know who's cooked which dishes,

we've given our scores to Andi to add them up.

So, Chefs, for the first time...

...it was a complete draw.

So, we went back and we looked at the scores for the canapes

and the pre-desserts, and...

...it was a complete draw again.

So, within the rules of the competition,

it actually states

that I have the casting vote.

So...

"I've looked at the work and the scores

that you've both achieved throughout the week...

...and after much deliberation and careful thought...

"I've decided...

...that the winner for Northern Ireland

and going through to cook at the finals is...

...Gemma.

Well clone.

Well clone.

Well done. Well clone, Gemma. You must be really pleased.

I mean, hard work. It was fantastic.

But, Kerry, you've obviously got some incredible skills out there,

particularly when it comes to the pastry side.

The highest score of the clay for me, it was ten out of ten.

I thought it was brilliant. Thanks.

Oliver, thank you so much for coming.

Have you enjoyed your time here at Great British Menu?

Oh, I've had an absolute ball. I've made some friends,

I've ate some of the best food of my life.

I'm having a wonderful time.

Chefs. Congratulations, Gemma. Commiserations, Kerry.

We hope we're going to see you again

because you've got something really special.

Thank you both so much. Thank you, guys. Thank you.

Well clone, Chefs. Well clone, Chefs.

Oh!

I'm so buzzing for Gemma.

You know, it's her third time, so I'm delighted for her.

Ancl I know that she's more than capable of getting any of her dishes

to the banquet. They're banquet-worthy.

I'm just so thrilled. Honestly, I'm...

...yeah, thrilled.

Wow.

That was proper nail-biting and nervy at the end, wasn't it?

It really was. It really was.

I feel like Gemma is more ready for the rig our of finals week.

It just goes to show that you go on a learning curve

on Great British Menu. If you don't do it the first time, you come back,

you come back. And she's finally got it over the line.

Kerry had a nightmare

with her starter,

giving Gemma a significant lead.

But then Kerry fought back,

narrowly winning fish and main,

thanks to the changes she'd made.

Nail-biting stuff, indeed.

So I'm over the moon for Gemma.

I think that's incredible.

But then, from Kerry's point of view, wow, that crayon

was just fantastic for me. It was sublime. I loved it.

You really can see that she's got an incredible skill set that I hope

she learns from this week.

Thank you, Tom. Pleasure.

Congratulations. Thank you so much.

Just pouring you a glass, Chef. Oh, thank you.

I tell you what, could very easily have been you there.

You have to get a dish to the banquet now.

Well, fingers crossed. It was amazing to spend this week with you

in the kitchen. Absolutely. I've enjoyed every minute.

Cheers. Slainte. Slainte. Well clone. Thank you.