Original subtitles

This year on Great British Menu...

Hot stuff coming through.

...the creme de la creme of the UK's chefs...

...are cooking their hearts out...

Ooh-la-la.

...for a chance to cook at

the prestigious Great British Menu banquet...

Rock and roll!

...which this year celebrates Britain's triumphs

in animation and illustration.

That's amazing!

Of course, the chefs' dishes must taste delicious...

I'm not giving out points for confidence, right?

...but they must represent the theme, too.

A roster of revered Great British Menu winners...

Snakes! That'll be snakes. Yeah!

...are returning as veteran judges to score the regional rounds.

I'm scoring you a ten.

I would give you an 11 if I could.

They've got their eyes peeled and taste buds primed

for supreme culinary skill and unparalleled talent.

Go hard or go home. Focused.

The pressure is on as, at the end of each day,

the least successful chef...

Done. ..will leave the competition.

Exciting!

This week, it's Scotland's finest

who are showing off their culinary talents.

It smells good in here.

Yesterday, Abi was eliminated after the fish course.

Go hard or go home.

The three chefs left in the competition

are newcomers Kevin Dalgleish...

Yeah. A lot riding on today.

...and Mark McCabe...

I just need to make sure my food is the best it can be.

...and returner Adam Handling.

Alleluia! My cheeks worked. Happiest clay of my life!

They're all hungry for success, and emotions are running high.

BLEEP!

It's...definitely one to push.

But only the two highest-scoring chefs will make it through.

I really thought he might pass out there.

The three remaining chefs for Scotland

must now compete over mains and desserts.

Adam and Mark are in the lead on 17 points, and Kevin is on 13 points.

The competition is heating up

but only the best two will get to cook for the judges.

So, it's main course.

Everyone wants this one. We're going to be running about.

Absolutely. I've got the sneakers on!

Let's do it, let's cook. Absolutely.

The veteran they have to impress

was the youngest chef to ever gain two Michelin stars

and cooked his starter course at the Great British Menu banquet.

Tom Aikens has restaurants all over the world,

not to mention a fearsome reputation.

The chefs have really got to go for it.

I want to see that great Scottish produce on the plate

but, above all, it's got to fit the brief perfectly.

Kevin, originally from the Scottish Borders,

is new to the competition, and a few points off the pace.

Will his dish, inspired by the famous Dandy comic character,

shoot him up the leader board?

The name is A Refined & Dandy Cow Pie...

Aha. ..and the inspiration is Desperate Dan, obviously.

We love Desperate Dan. Who else would it be?

Tell me, how are we making it? How are we going about it?

So, we're going to braise the beef cheeks. Yeah.

Then we're going to make a lovely red wine sauce,

a bit of Madeira in there. We've got some ceps,

we've got some nice turnip, some carrots,

a nice bit of horseradish pomme puree,

and then I'm going to make a lovely lattice pastry top

to sit over the whole dish.

OK. I've got a cloche that I put it over. Sometimes it sticks.

So, there's an element of risk there because it's very fine

so you can see in it. OK. Are you happy with the pressure cooker?

Yeah, I mean, I've done it plenty of times. It's an hour bang-on.

I said to Adam earlier, it's only 25 minutes

because he's cooking beef cheeks. The battle is on!

Well, we wish you loads of luck, of course. Thanks very much.

Also a newcomer, sustainability champion Mark

is joint top of the leader board.

His main course, Badger's Sett,

is based on a children's classic, Wind In The Willows.

I was quite an anxious child. I used to put on an animation

of Wind In The Willows to help me sleep. Aw.

I think most chefs are anxious when they're young, aren't they?

I think it's good. It's good energy for the kitchen.

I even have a tattoo of Badger, actually, on my arm.

This is from the exact scene that the dish is based on. Oh, my gosh!

What are we actually doing, then?

So, I'm doing a rack of hogget which I'm going to cure

and then cook over the barbecue. OK.

The hogget's going to be sitting on some sauerkraut

and then, to share, I'm going to have

a Parker House-style brioche

stuffed with lamb shoulder stew... Ooh.

...and a lamb fat candle to clip it in.

Ancl then, presentation-wise, how's it looking?

I want it to feel like Badger's parlour.

So, to recreate that, we've got cast-iron candleholders,

a little cauldron for the sauce.

Sounds very warming, very inviting, very welcoming.

Mark and Adam have similar food philosophies

championing sustainability and zero waste.

Now it turns out they have a similar inspiration for the main course

by the same Scottish author.

It's Ratty's Picnic, and also Wind In The Willows.

More Wind In The Willows! Ah, yeah.

Mine's based on the scene that Ratty and Mole,

they went for a little picnic. Ratty made everything

and he started rattling dishes off to Mole.

Ancl Mole was like, "Whoa, calm down, that's way too much."

Ancl I'm pretty much recreating every one of them,

dish after dish after dish after dish... Oh, my word.

All righty. So, what have we got, then?

The main element is going to be chicken stuffed with haggis.

I'm going to do a little beef cheek tart.

I'm going to do an ox tongue sauce.

I'm going to do a...like an aubergine puree, cross

between curry sauce and brown sauce together.

OK. They talk a lot about gherkins. Right.

So, we're going to be doing fried gherkins, gherkin ketchup.

So, you must have a mighty prep list on your hands.

Nine-page prep list.

Yeah. Apparently, it's the biggest one that's ever been on the show.

Well, on that note...chop-chop!

MARK LAUGHS

Kevin sears his marinated beef cheeks and

quickly gets them into the pressure cooker

to give them as much time to tenderise as possible.

As this isn't a traditional pie, it only has a top,

Kevin's next job is to brush the pastry around the bowls

with egg wash, and then bake.

Yeah, under pressure, first up - so I need to get my skates on

and I need to catch these guy, too, so, a lot riding on today.

He then browns beef trim for his jus,

adding port, red wine and sherry vinegar.

So, Kevin's dish, A Refined 81 Dandy Cow Pie.

I mean, it all sounds great on paper but, at the end of the clay,

it is just a pie.

But it has to be an amazing pie.

So the beef cheeks need to be moist, full of flavour,

tender enough, but not like completely breaking down.

Mark is making a brioche dough -

mixing flour and yeast with eggs, butter and starter.

So much to do. A lot riding on today as well.

I really don't want to let my foot off the gas.

A bit nervous but I think we'll be OK.

He fries lamb for a stew that he plans to encase in the bread.

My brioche needs to prove and be baked in time.

The big concern -

I've never used this particular pressure cooker before as well,

so that's always a little worry.

The lamb is added to the pressure cooker along with stock

and he prepares his rack of hogget -

meat which is slightly older than lamb.

Mark's dish - Badger's Sett - that hogget rack,

what are you going to be looking for?

It's got a good centimetre of fat on there,

so he's got to cook it fairly slowly, not too quickly

so that renders down and then you've got

a nice, beautiful pink meat inside.

So, you guys are doing the same illustration, are you?

Lots of similarities but, you know,

Wind In The Willows is an iconic book.

I remember when I was younger, my grandmother used to read this to me,

so, there's a little nod to her in this meal as well.

I think, for me, it was very similar.

I've got a copy of the book that my gran gave to me.

Do we share the same gran?!

When you said "MY gran", I almost corrected you. Our gran!

So, what was it about Desperate Dan,

that attracted you to do a dish based on him, Kevin?

When I was doing some research, it took me back to some memories

being back in Hawick when I was nine years old

joining the Desperate Dan Club.

So, you know, all these memories are great, you know.

Yeah, he's certainly famous for Scotland as well.

With a long list of things to do, Adam gets cracking -

prepping veg for two different purees.

I think this is going to be the hardest I've worked in a long time.

He makes a chicken mousse by blending egg white

and chicken breast, adding haggis and cream.

There's a lot of things on this dish, though, which makes it fun

and, hopefully, that gives it the edge.

There's no doubt about it, Mark can cook.

We've seen that on his last two dishes.

Hopefully, this one does the theatre as well.

I'm coming for you, Mark!

His beef cheeks in beer, stock and aromats

go into the pressure cooker.

Wish me luck. I don't know how to use these things.

He makes a masala paste using turmeric, garlic and red chillies.

So, this is for my aubergine chutney which is like a cross

between a curry sauce and a brown sauce. Really lovely.

Adam's dish... Mm. ..Ratty's Picnic,

sounds like a dish headed straight towards a banquet.

Well, let's not count our chickens

before they're hatched, as they say. Before they're poached or steamed.

So, listen, there's a lot of work to get through. Yes.

It could be an amazing dish,

or it could end up with egg on his face. Let's see.

Kevin is making his puff pastry lattice top

which he egg washes before shaping over a bowl.

I've got lots to do. I've got...

The big worry is the beef cheeks being cooked perfectly

and, obviously, the lattice pastry not sticking to the bowls.

It'll form the lid to his cow pie -

favourite food of comic strip hero Desperate Dan,

who has Scottish roots.

When developing his dish, Kevin met with Craig Graham,

former editor of The Dandy magazine.

Hi, Craig. Pleased to me you.

Dundee is actually the home of The Dandy,

the comic that Desperate Dan was the figurehead for.

Ancl Dundonians have a huge affection for Dan.

They see him as their superhero.

This statue brings so much memories back to me

being in the Desperate Dan Pie Eater's Club.

Although he's a cowboy ostensibly from Cactusville in the Wild West,

actually, he's from the Wild East of Scotland!

So, Kevin, how does he figure in your dish?

Historically, the cow pie was massive

and probably really stodgy and really, you know, hearty.

I'm going to try and refine it

and braise little beef cheeks and glaze them,

and then there's a lot of local vegetables.

Hopefully, I can make him proud.

That sounds amazing.

I'm sure Aunt Aggie would approve.

With his pastry lattice

luckily coming away from the bowls without sticking...

Relieved? Yeah. It's always a worry.

...Kevin moves on to glazing his heritage carrots and baby turnips,

passes his cooked potatoes, and seasons.

I'm excited to get the dish in front of Tom,

and I need a big score, obviously, to try and jump these guys.

KEVIN CH UCKLES

Pastry has turned out how you wanted?

Yeah, it's good. I'm just going to finish it with some crumb,

just going to reglaze it finish it with some of the onion crumb.

So, with Kevin's pie, I've had a look.

A bit sad because there's no bottom to it.

There is a trellis top but, to me, it's not really pie,

so I just hope that he gets all those other bits perfect

if I'm going to give it a good score.

Mark is keeping an eye on his stew,

having never used this pressure cooker before.

Thank God for that. Cooked and not burnt.

Praise be.

I'm telling you, that is a weight off my mind.

To make edible candles...

Any hands all round?

...he suspends a wick in moulds and pours in rendered lamb fat.

It's going to be burning.

The fat's going to melt into a little dish of salt and rosemary.

Perfect for clipping your bread into.

He fills brioche dough with the lamb stew

and starts his hogget rack off on the barbecue.

And then, what's over here?

So, this is some sauerkraut.

It's got a bit of seaweed through it, a bit of dulse

and some kelp as well. We make a lot of... Wow, OK, that's interesting.

I always think seaweed and lamb goes really well together.

I'm going to warm that through in a little butter

just to temper it slightly.

With hogget, it's quite a strong taste

and so the acidity from the sauerkraut

and with the sea flavour from the dulse,

it will really help, I think, lighten the dish.

If Mark really gets everything right,

I think he could be on for a high score.

For Adam's chicken sauce,

roasted chicken wings are added to stock.

But has he bitten off more than he can chew?

This is hard work. CH UCKLES WRYLY

For his ox cheek tart, he preps puff pastry cases.

Added texture!

He blitzes the aubergine puree,

passes,

and dices chicken that has been cured

and then cooked in a water bath.

It's cooked to perfection.

He pipes chicken mousse into moulds,

fills the centre with the chicken and truffle,

and chills...

...whilst reducing an ox tongue and mustard sauce.

Ancl this is a...?

That's my sauce. just need to infuse it, then I'll pass it.

Can I have a little taste? Yeah. It's not quite finished yet.

Yeah. Don't worry. No points deducted yet!

MARK CHUCKLES

I take my sauces pretty seriously.

So, I tasted a mustard and beef tongue sauce.

It had a good flavour in there.

Ancl now, what Adam's going to do is bring that

right down fairly quickly to concentrate those flavours,

and I'm sure it'll be a beautiful sauce.

Plating first, Kevin's hoping his Desperate Dan Cow Pie

will push him up the leader board.

Really happy with the beef cheeks, they came out glazed nicely, soft,

and I'm just going to cut them in half and reglaze them.

Mmm! It smells good in here. Guys, can you fill these out for me,

and I'll get them when I come up to the pass?

Something for us to fill in. Oh, really? Wow. OK.

Ah, the Refined 8; Dandy Pie Club! Yeah, yeah.

Kevin pipes his potato and horseradish puree

and tops with beef cheeks.

How's your cheeks, Kevin? Really nice. Melt in the mouth.

You've got one minute for the Desperate Pie.

Yeah. Plating up now.

He spoons over the red wine jus before adding spinach and ceps.

For an extra nod to Desperate Dan's horned pie,

more jus is served in cow horn jugs.

He finishes off with a puff pastry lattice top.

Very pretty. Look at those colours in there.

Well, this is A Refined & Dandy Pie

and the inspiration is Desperate Dan.

Lovely. What do we think, guys?

Looks like a pie. It looks tasty.

All right, let's go. Thank you.

I'll bring the gravy. Thank you, sir. Good luck. Thank you, guys.

How does it look? Yeah, very happy.

It was always a worry that the lattice not sticking to the bowl,

but it all came off.

Do you feel like you're having pie? My mouth does.

Beef cheeks, are you happy with those, how they came out?

Yeah. I glazed them over, I wanted them to be quite sticky

and it just falls apart when you dig into them.

It's lovely and soft. It's well cooked.

It's got a nice, rich flavour to it.

The pastry here, are you happy with how that came out?

It's the right colour. It's the right texture.

So, you weren't going to go with a sort of enclosed bottom and top?

Yeah, I wanted it to be quite intriguing

and just look quite refined. That was the whole idea behind the pie.

And this is obviously a matter up for debate all over the world.

Does a pie have a base? I would say it does.

I have less strong feelings on the subject.

Do you say it does or it doesn't? It absolutely does.

But I do have a horn thing full of gravy,

so it's kind of making up for it.

Ancl then, you had me fill in a little form.

What was all that about? Well, if you enjoyed the pie,

I can invite you to the Desperate Dan Members' Club. Oh, my Lord.

A lifetime member. I remember one of these a long time ago.

Let's give it a score, shall we?

I'd give it an 8. I think it's really nice.

I'd give it an 8 as well because it's tasty

and everything's done quite nice.

So, what would you give it?

I think it's a top-end pie,

so I think a strong 9 would be up there.

Cheeky.

How was that, Kevin? Yeah, I was happy with that. It's tasty.

It's the tastiest dish you've made so far. Yeah. Thanks, Adam.

How are you guys getting on? Need a hand?

Mm-hm. Yeah? Yes, please.

Mark's finishing the barbecued hogget rack,

and the lamb-filled brioche goes in to bake.

Sauerkraut is first on to the plate.

What's going on here now?

This is a bit of smoked yoghurt.

Black garlic puree is next, and a turnip tuile.

Like this? Yeah, that's perfect. Thank you.

The caramelised celeriac follows.

One more minute.

Going to be two minutes over, Chef. Sorry.

You all right there, Mark? You're moving pretty fast.

|t's...it's definitely one to push.

Adam attempts to fit the lamb fat candles into holders.

I'm literally not stitching you up, but these are not going to stand.

I want to swap jobs.

Argh! The tension!

Mark carves the hogget

and tries to make the tricky candles stand to attention.

But they're not in the mood so he cuts them in half.

Just get... If we...

take the plates up to the pass.

Lights dimming...

SIGHS

There you go. Gave yourself a heart attack earlier.

It's still on the cards!

So, this dish is called Badger's Sett,

and it's inspired by Wind In The Willows.

What do you think, chaps?

It's awesome. It looks really great.

Well, there, I've got a couple on for us. Let's go.

I really thought he might pass out there.

Yeah. Yeah. Shall we sauce it up?

A little letter there for you as well. Ah, I get a letter.

"Dear friends, I hope this meal revives you

"after your long and dangerous trek through the Wild Wood."

So first, the lamb.

I think the fat could have rendered out a little bit more. Mm-hm.

It's maybe a tiny bit under.

Nice and tender.

Maybe the only thing, the skin could be slightly crispier, maybe.

The slow-cooked lamb in the brioche.

I'm happy with those. I think they turned out really well.

Despite the candles being fast burning,

they do produce a nice clip for it.

That's delicious. Yeah. It's just soggy,

900931. yummy-ness.

Yeah. Yeah. All of the above.

HE CHUCKLES

The sauerkraut? It's nice to have a bit of freshness there.

Ancl then, are you happy overall with the presentation?

Personally, I think it's exactly what Badger would serve me

if I walked into his parlour on a late night.

Let's get a couple of scores out of you, please.

I'd say a very strong 8. I'd do... I'd do a 9.

Ancl then if you were to score your dish?

I've said 7s all the way - I'm going to go with a 7.

OK. How would you make that better?

I would like the hogget to be slightly better cooked

on the rack.

How did you get on?

I think that was probably the most stressful thing

I've ever clone in my life. HE CHUCKLES

That was absolutely delicious. Yeah, it was good. Yeah.

I don't think you needed to stress over that candle, that's for sure.

With a lot of elements to finish,

Adam bastes his chicken layered mousse

with the chicken and beef sauce and fries Tenderstem broccoli.

Ah!

He portions, batters and deep-fries gherkins,

and with so much to do, he's reliant on the help of his rivals

to get his dish ready.

OK, do me a favour - dress this with seasoning.

Need a lid so we don't all die.

Can you just crumble my blue cheese for me, mate? I'll get that next.

It's the moment of truth for the beef cooked

in the pressure cooker.

Hallelujah, my cheeks worked! Happiest clay of my life.

Adam fills the tart cases with beef cheek and truffle

and then passes onto his sous chefs.

A little bit of thyme on them, like, the little baby ones,

and we're good to go.

The mustard and ox tongue sauce is decanted...

RATTY BUZZES

Three minutes, Adam. Three minutes is perfect.

I will be up.

What's in there, Adam? These are my little crispy gherkins.

I love a deep-fried pickle!

So good.

Tenderstem broccoli is next.

What have you clone to the broccoli?

Roasted it heavily in beef fat and then melted blue cheese

all over it.

The beef cheek tarts are also boxed up.

He plates spinach and broccoli puree.

OK, one minute now. One minute. Wonderful.

Can I get a yellow board ready, please?

Happy with these? Oh, awesome! I'll take them.

The layered chicken mousse with truffle is portioned...

IN HUSHED TONE: Yes!

Oh, my God.

...and plated... And we're clone!

...and served to the sounds of the Wind In The Willows theme.

WIND IN THE WILLOWS THEME So... So, it's a picnic.

Ratty came in on his boat.

I had to push the boat out.

Ratty's Picnic - and my inspiration is from the scene

from the Wind In The Willows. Enjoy, everyone.

Good luck, mate. Cheers. Good luck, Chef.

So now, eating that all together, how do you feel?

Words can't describe how happy I am.

That's good. Beef tartlet?

I think the pastry was super flaky.

The...the cheek was cooked amazingly.

I was worried about that out of everything.

Works really nicely with the gherkin ketchup.

So is there a sort of main chicken element as you wished? Mm-hm.

Better than I practised, to be fair. THEY LAUGH

That's very, very nicely cooked, well executed.

I was slightly disappointed, to be honest,

it's a bit her by for me.

A bit like stuffing? Yeah.

Your very elaborate beef sauce with the tongue.

Was that how you wanted? Yeah, big time.

It's got a nice texture to it.

It's got a really depth of flavour, I think. It's not greasy.

It's a lovely sauce. Yeah, it's rich. It's...

Really nice mouth feel. Yeah.

Um, let's get some scores. Kevin?

I'll go for an 8, just because I didn't really like the chicken.

I don't really like the chicken.

So I'm going to go with a 9.

A 9. Okey do key.

If you had to score this dish, what would you give it?

I would give myself a 10 - only because I couldn't do anything else.

Yeah, fair point.

Cheers, Chef. Well done. That was a gruelling day.

That was horrendous.

Hi, Chef. Here he is. Oh, that was hard, wasn't it?

THEY LAUGH Happy with it?

I'm very happy with that. Yeah. The gherkins were a winner too.

First time I've had them. You're Scottish -

that's the first time you've had deep-fried gherkins?!

Mate, you've not lived. HE LAUGHS

Each of them had a real push to get to the pass.

You know, I think the only one that wasn't was Kevin with his pie.

Is a pie really a pie if there's no bottom on it?

Yes, for me, I think a pie has to have definitely a bottom.

So scoring-wise... Yes.

I think I know what I'm going to give. Oh, you do? I like you,

you make up your mind quite snappily, don't you?

Yeah, well, you know.

Currently, Kevin is on 13 points

and Adam and Mark are on 17.

So, main course.

Three delicious dishes.

One revelatory moment, for me, anyway,

and some absolutely beautiful storytelling.

So, Kevin, for your dish, A Refined & Dandy Cow Pie,

I really liked the light-hearted presentation.

The beef cheek was delicious and it pulled apart nicely,

so well clone, it was bang-on. Thank you.

The vegetables were nicely cooked, but the pie element itself-

I thought you could have been a little bit more creative.

It was really just a dome with a beef cheek underneath it.

I think if you promise a pie, you need to deliver a pie.

OK.

It was a simple dish, and although everything was well cooked,

I really felt that you could have pushed yourself a little bit more.

Yeah.

Mark, for your dish, Badger's Sett...

I really loved your personal connection to the story

and it was very nicely portrayed with the candle and also

the little note and the cauldron.

The star of the dish was the brioche with the braised hogget centre,

it was well proved and had a really lovely soft texture

and I thought it was really, really top-notch.

The hogget rack, as you know, you hadn't rendered the fat

down enough and so it was slightly undercooked,

and the lamb fat candle, I don't want to go on about that too much...

I just think next time, you may want to make a smaller one

and maybe probably get them chilled a little bit more, yeah?

Overall, though, I thought the dish had great potential.

Adam, for your dish, Ratty's Picnic -

it definitely hit the brief,

and I think you brought that famous picnic scene true to life.

Your beef cheek was tender and soft.

Pastry was crisp, and the spiced aubergine was delicious.

Your steamed chicken terrine with the haggis

had a good depth of flavour.

I thought the roasted broccoli in the beef fat and the stilton

was a lovely idea.

And, again, very flavoursome.

That beef and ox tongue sauce was rich and beefy

and lovely with the chicken.

You gave me my first-ever fried gherkin.

Ancl truly, it was everything that you wanted for a picnic.

And so, to the scores.

Mark.

I'm scoring you...

...a 7.

Mark, the revelation I was alluding to was that Parker roll of yours,

it was just stunning.

Kevin.

I'm scoring you...

...a 7.

If you're going to say cow pie, Desperate Dan's pie,

everybody's going to expect a showstopper.

And it wasn't quite that. Yeah.

But it was very delicious. Thank you.

And, Adam,

I'm going to give you."...

...a 10. Thank you very much. Well clone.

Adam, what an epic effort.

Your heart and soul went into that and we felt

every moment of it - congratulations.

Thank you. So next up, it's the sweet part of the menu.

Ancl I do love a good dessert.

Thanks, guys. Thank you. Thank you.

Well done, mate. Out of all the times I practised,

that was the best time I did it. You had two good helpers, though.

Shall we bash on now with the pre-dessert?

Let's do it. Absolutely, let's go.

10 from Tom Aikens.

I am so happy. I couldn't have put any more into it,

but I'm not taking my foot off the gas - I want another ten.

So I think the score was justified for the main course.

I have to be pleased with that.

It was a safe dish, so I need to try and push myself

a little bit more.

Going forward, I just need to make sure my dessert's

the best it can be.

It's time for the pre-dessert,

a palate cleanser between the main and dessert courses.

It will be blind-tasted by Tom.

The ranking will be used in the event of a tie-break.

The challenge for the chefs is to all serve at the same time.

So it's called Take My Hand.

It's inspired by an illustration by one of my favourite musicians

called Scott Hutchison, and really just means a lot to me.

It's a set lemon verbena and candied hazelnut mousse.

Oh, nice! With a centre of damson jam.

Kevin is at the bottom of the pack and needs to deliver

with the sweet part of his menu.

But there are no obvious signs of nerves.

CANNBTER SQUEAKS

Oh, excuse me.

Foam gun doesn't work.

So what is happening with your pre-dessert?

Owl ice cream and jelly.

The inspiration is from The Gruffalo. Love The Gruffalo!

He says his favourite food is owl ice cream. That's right, yeah.

I believe. I've got red gooseberry jelly...

Ooh, yum! ..which I'm just extracting the juice from.

I've got a green gooseberry compote. Nice.

I'm going to do an elderflower and Scottish yoghurt ice cream.

Oh, gosh! And then I'm going to finish it off

with an elderflower espuma.

So it's going to look like an owl egg.

Having a little mare with this pre-dessert, aren't I?

Adam is currently top of the tree, but funny things can happen

during the pastry courses.

So the title of the dish is A Cold Lump Of Nothing. OK.

And that's what I'm doing, a cold lump of nothing. Sounds delicious!

It's from The Star In The Forest, where two girls,

their dream is to see some shooting stars.

So they go into the forest thinking that they saw one fall from the sky,

and when they went to the forest, they thought it was nothing.

So they started to walk away and then it started to glow. Oh...

So I'm going to do that frozen star of cold nothing.

OK, what are the flavours?

Pickled apples, and they'll be on there like frozen moon rocks

that they would have dropped from the sky.

Ancl you've got a little malic panna cotta.

It sounds delicious. It will certainly wake you up.

But the dessert demons are rearing their ugly heads.

Adam's having issues with his panna cotta.

All my dairy's curdling.

And against the clock, Mark needs to get his mousses down

to temperature before he can finish them...

It's really a case of getting them out of the freezer

as quickly as I can to get them painted.

...which is not helped by Kevin using the same freezer.

Shut that bloody door. Sorry, man.

Last minute, please.

That'll do.

This is when all goes pear-shaped.

Ooh!

Thank you.

You all happy? I think so. Yeah.

I come bearing... Gifts. ..pre-dessert gifts.

Oh!

It's A Cold Lump Of Nothing.

Thank you. So the flavours in there is wine, lemon and jasmine.

Yeah, it's nice. Good textures.

The wine sorbet, really nice and sharp and... Cleansing.

Cleanses the soul.

It's a bit boozy.

Kind of nice. It is, yeah.

Mm. Sharp in a really pleasing way.

Yeah, it's nice. It's got some texture, it's crunchy and...

Does exactly what you want a pre-dessert to do. Exactly.

So this one is inspired by The Gruffalo,

and the Gruffalo says their favourite thing to eat

is owl ice cream.

So obviously it's not...it's not made of owls.

It's quite bitter. It's quite sweet.

It kind of wakes you up. Yeah.

For a palate cleanser, it's... Mm. ..It does the job.

Absolutely. It tickles the back of my eyes.

HE LAUGHS

Very nice.

Feathers. Mind the feathers.

AN DI CH UCKLES

Sharp, but no texture at all.

Yeah. It's just all liquid and soft and squidgy.

OK. Mm...

It's nice and sweet.

I like the biscuit. Do you have nuts in the bottom or something?

No, they're in the mousse. In the mousse? Love it.

I thought the damsons might be too sweet, but they're not.

No, they're sharp.

It's quite rich, though. Mm, it is quite rich.

I like the biscuit on the bottom. Mm. The texture of that's nice.

I think thank God for that.

OK. What's your favourite?

I'll put the Lump Of Nothing.

And then your second? I think I'm going to go with this one.

And Be Kind would be your third? Yeah.

Now, guess who made what.

I knew you were going to do that!

Because this one is using waste, yeah... Yes.

...so waste wine. So it's either going to be Adam or it's Mark.

I think I'll go Mark.

Who made the second one?

I think that's Adam.

And the third one? Kevin.

Right. So...

...Adam, Kevin and Mark.

Oh. I got it all wrong. You got it all wrong.

It's time for the dessert course, the final course,

and with Tom's high expectations and scores this tight,

anything could happen.

Mark, who is in the dangerous middle ground of the leader board,

is making strawberry sorbet - heating wine,

hogweed seeds and sugar.

A little bit nervous going into dessert.

Don't feel like it's my strongest dish. Erm...

Haven't had a lot of formal training in pastry,

so kind of just making it up a bit.

He blends with strawberries, then heats strawberry juice

and glucose to make butterfly tuiles.

The title of the dish is One Emotion At A Time,

and it's inspired by Tinker Bell from JM Barrie's Peter Pan.

Oh, I love Peter Pan!

SoJM Barrie was born in the town that I went to school in.

Oh. There's a Peter Pan statue in the centre of the town as well.

But, yeah. So, Tinker Bell, how are we getting her onto a plate?

A few little butterfly wings, strawberry tuiles

clotted about the place.

It's basically strawberries and cream. Right.

But with a few different tweaks.

I've got a nice yoghurt and honey sponge,

which I'm going to spray paint green because Tinkerbell's always in

her nice green dress. Green fairy dress, yeah.

Um, smoked strawberry compote, woodruff custard,

strawberry and hogweed sorbet.

It doesn't sounds too sweet. It doesn't sound too sweet, no.

Got some lovely different flavours and elements on there.

Have you got anything special lined up?

So I'm going to top the whole thing with a little spun sugar dome.

Oh...!

Very '80s! HE LAUGHS

What would be your main point of worry with this dish?

Maybe just the way it's actually going to look on the plate.

Whether there is a synergy with the food to the brief,

because after all, he's only putting some little

Tinker Bell wings on there.

Right. So let's see if there's a real connection.

The childhood home of the Peter Pan authorjM Barrie is in Kirriemuir,

east Scotland.

When planning his dessert,

Mark went to visit operations manager Scott Byrne.

Well, hi. So how would a young JM Barrie have passed the time

in a room this cramped?

I think they would have probably relied a lot on storytelling,

inspired by fairies, by the fireside here, from his mother.

This is the wash house. This really could lay claim

to being the birthplace of Peter Pan.

This is reallyjM Barrie's first theatre.

He would charge marbles for entry.

Him and his pal would perform a little theatrical production.

So, Mark, interested in how Peter Pan inspired your dish.

So, I was looking to incorporate Tinker Bell into my dessert,

with a bright green sponge, like her dress,

and then topped with a sort of spun-sugar dome

with a little fairy dust.

I think that sounds like a really fitting tribute

to Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.

So we wish you the best of luck.

Thank you very much.

Trying to figure out what the hell's going on here.

Adam, true to form, has left himself a lot to do

for his dessert, based on a trifle.

Lots going on, but it's controlled.

This is my last one to impress Tom.

He makes a custard that he'll bake, warming milk and cream,

adding ground pepper instead of classic vanilla,

and combining with egg yolks and sugar.

I'm worried about the setting.

I've got set jellies. I've got three set gels and purees.

I've got crisps. I've got a cake.

All needs to be room temperature, cold or below.

He steams the custard in a bain-Marie

and sets about making a cake,

mixing brown sugar, flour and meadowsweet powder,

adding brown butter and baking.

So, the name is Food Fight

and it's to recreate that scene from the Be a no and the Dandy,

their iconic food fight scene.

Have you ever actually had a food fight?

I've had a few, yeah. The mess!

Me and my brothers and sisters and then Dad coming in with a slipper.

So it's the elements of a trifle, smashed up.

Three different types of puree, strawberry jelly,

so I'll be doing a black pepper custard.

I'm making a burnt butter cake

with just a little touch of egg whites into it,

but lots of dark sugar.

So it's going to be very chewy.

There's a lot on the plate

and you've given yourself a huge amount of work to do again.

Do you like the sound of this? We all like a food fight,

particularly when it's a nice trifle.

Adam's dish, Food Fight. Yes.

What are the biggest areas of danger with a dish like Adam's?

I think, when the basis of what it is is a trifle

is really to elevate it to a banquet-worthy dish.

He's got his vision of how it'll be

but I think translating that onto a plate verbally to us

is always the difficult thing until you actually see it.

So I think, for me, proof is in the pudding.

Kevin is making a sponge for an opera cake,

mixing egg whites and ground almonds

with icing sugar and adding egg yolks.

With three points to make up on Mark,

he knows he's got his work cut out.

This is a big clay for me.

I need to try and obviously get some high scoring.

A lot can go wrong. I've got mousses, I've got sponges,

I've got tempered chocolate, ice cream,

you name it - it's on this dish.

He adds chocolate to his cake mix before baking.

Tom's feedback about playing it too safe

is still ringing in his ears.

I had a think about what Tom says,

and I've added a few more little details for my dish today,

so hopefully that can gain me at least another point.

The title is Paddington's Night At The Opera.

65 years of Paddington Bear. We're all thrilled by it.

Tell us how you're going to work Paddington onto your plate.

So I'm going to make an opera cake. Chocolate sponge. Yeah.

Then I'm going to do a chocolate mousse, almost,

and then a marmalade gel,

tempered chocolate with Paddington's colours on the top, stripy colours.

I'm going to make an orange and cardamom ice cream

and some cocoa nib tuiles on the side of that.

How do you feel about orange and chocolate?

Well, I have a bit of a love-hate thing with it. Oh.

No sort of perfumy ooh-la-la.

No, no. Ooh-la-la!

I'll have to change the recipe.

Yes. As long as there's no ooh-la-la,

you should be fine. No, no.

Mark, who is not confident with pastry, is making a custard,

adding heated milk to woodruff sugar, flour and egg yolks.

He passes and chills.

Desserts - how does everyone feel about them? I love them.

I always think that, desserts,

you can be childish and perhaps a little less formal.

It's a different style of cooking, obviously.

Bit stressful, isn't it?

For a honey and yoghurt cake,

he combines honey, butter, eggs and flour.

Most big jobs are done. I'm running out of time.

Obviously, I've still got my sugar work to do,

so that's the sort of biggest worry, next up.

He smokes a strawberry compote and spreads his cake

mixture into moulds.

How are you, Mark? Not too bad, thanks, Chef. All right? Yeah.

So, do you have anything I can taste at all?

Yeah. Got the finished strawberry and hogweed sorbet here. Lovely.

OK. Thank you very much. Thank you.

So I've just tasted Mark's strawberry and hogweed seed sorbet.

It's not too sweet. The hogweed is not overbearing.

You've still got the flavour of the strawberry.

A lovely tasting sorbet, I thought.

His sorbet may be OK, but his custard is not.

That's just split.

So he starts again.

My woodruff custard's a bit split.

It's probably saveable, but I've got time,

so I'll just knock up another batch.

Driven chef Adam's dessert is a deconstructed trifle.

The dish should be presented - organised chaos.

For a strawberry gel,

he adds verjus and grenadine to frozen strawberries.

To make a jelly, he's using the same mix but adding gelatine.

He whisks meadowsweet cream.

Biggest whisk in the world.

And his baked custards are done.

My baked creams - ah! - need to chill them down.

He makes a strawberry tuile using powdered strawberry.

He passes his gels and slices his cake.

What have we got here? Basically, it's a brown butter cake.

I got a little touch of meadowsweet, just flour, lots of burnt butter,

lots of nice brown sugar

and just a couple of tablespoons of egg whites - that's about it.

The burnt butter cake with the meadowsweet tastes lovely.

I think it's a really nice addition to his dish.

Ancl then, with all the other components going on, I think

it'll be like a nice sort of mopping-up sponge

to have with everything else that's going on the plate.

As research into his Be a no and Dandy characters,

Adam invited Joanna Ruiz to his restaurant,

the voice behind the teacher in the animated series,

trying to keep everyone in check.

So you play Mrs Creecher. Mm-hm. What's that like? Amazing.

She is old.

AS MRS CREECHER: She speaks like this and she's always

telling the children off.

Dennis, you've broken school rule number 792 -

no unauthorised cabbages in class!

So, if you were to pick me as one of the characters, what would it be?

Oh, Dennis, getting into trouble.

Have you been speaking to my mother?

What are you going to put into your dessert

to show the Dennis, the chaos, the madness?

Want to taste what I've got so far? Ooh, yes, please.

Oh!

AS MRS CREECHER: Well, Adam, I can definitely say

I am awarding you a gold star for this fine work.

Well done. Thank you.

Kevin is making an ice-cream mix, combining sugar and cardamom

with milk and cream and adding orange zest.

Now his sponge has cooled,

he layers it up in a cake tin, brushing with Grand Marnier syrup.

So the next thing and most important job is the chocolate mousse,

cos this is the thing that pulls it all together

so I need to get this right.

He whisks egg whites, caster sugar and water over a bain-Marie

and then combines with cream, orange zest and melted chocolate.

How are you doing, Kevin?

Yeah, getting there. just getting this mousse on the go, get it set.

Can I have a taste? Yeah.

Quite sweet but then my marmalade will bring it back a bit.

How are you with layering? All right?

I used to be a plasterer.

Well, you should be good, then.

All right, good luck. Thanks.

He said he's got the marmalade to go in,

so I'm hoping it's going to bring a bit more bitterness into it

cos at the minute it's a bit airy-fairy for me.

He adds a layer of mousse...

The mousse is quite soft but it'll firm up in the blast freezer.

...and another layer of sponge and syrup before chilling.

With service looming,

Mark passes his second batch of woodruff custard,

turns out his yoghurt and honey cakes and sprays green.

Four minutes, Mark, please.

Thank you very much.

He cuts butterflies from the strawberry tuile mix,

but they don't seem to be coming away easily.

Can I borrow you, Kevin? Yeah. Is that all right?

Can you just ease off some of these butterflies? Yeah.

He starts his sugar work, drizzling over dome moulds.

Not how I'D have clone it.

And the butterflies haven't gone to plan.

Going to leave those off. BLEEP.

Leaving them off the dish could weaken his link

to his Tinker Bell inspiration.

OK, you've got three minutes there, Mark.

Thank you very much.

He starts plating. It's going on the plate.

This is some woodruff custard.

Fresh raspberries and strawberries follow.

Bring them over, I'll do it.

Thank you. You got 1 minute there, yeah? Well, 35 seconds.

The smoked strawberry compote goes on top of the custard.

So a little strawberry hogweed sorbet.

You just want it in the middle? Yes, please.

OK, we're clue on the pass there.

Sorry, Chef. One moment.

It's served over ethereal liquid nitrogen under dimmed lights.

That's Tinker Bell.

She's a bit temperamental sometimes,

she's very angry a lot of the time,

but I'm hoping if we're really quiet, she will speak to us.

BELLjlNGLES

So my dish is called One Emotion At A Time.

It's inspired by Tinker Bell from JM Barrie's Peter Pan.

Grab one and we'll go and try.

Last one down, buddy. Well done. Last one. Thank you.

What do you think? Are you getting Tinker Bell?

Perhaps not so much with the dessert, but with the,

with the props, for sure.

There you go.

Are you happy with the way that it's all coming together?

That sponge isn't quite how I'd like it, but...

Were you looking for something a little bit lighter?

Yeah, definitely.

It's quite a soft flavour, isn't it?

Dense. It's quite dense. Yeah. Ancl then the strawberry sorbet.

Yeah, I'm really happy with that.

I think it adds a nice acidity and contrast to the dish.

Yeah, the strawberry's lovely. Yeah. It really comes through.

I agree. Yeah. And then the caramel cage. You happy with that?

As long as it doesn't get stuck in your teeth,

I'm happy enough with that.

I think lose the sugar tuile on top because I value my teeth.

You just don't need it, do you?

Mark, I notice the strawberry wings are not on the plate.

They weren't quite how I wanted them to be.

They were kind of almost entirely decorative.

I just felt they weren't quite right, so I left them off.

OK. Let's get some scores. Adam.

I'd give him a 7.

I'd say, yeah, 7. Yeah.

So, Mark, what would you score your dessert?

I'd like a 7.

I don't think a 6 would be unfair.

You all right?

Yeah, I think so.

As well as could be hoped, I think.

Yeah. That was good. Tasted nice. Thank you.

Up next, Adam has also got the liquid nitrogen out to make

strawberry rocks made from combined strawberries and egg white.

Yeah, typical. The gun doesn't work.

Ai, ai, ai. We can do it. We can do it. Come on.

HE GROANS

As he nears service, he needs to stay as cool as his rocks.

Bloody gun isn't working, as in...

I don't like it. BLEEP.

He moves on to freeing his set custards, and starts plating.

The strawberry gel first...

You've got plenty of time there, Adam. Four minutes. Thank you.

...followed by the black verjus gel and the burnt butter cake.

So, what are you layering up here?

This is coffee syrup.

Are you doing your signature?

My signature is way worse than that.

He pipes meadowsweet cream onto the cake,

adds strawberry tuiles and compressed strawberries.

What's this? My pepper creme brulee custard. Nice.

Can you, would you mind holding this for me, please?

More meadowsweet cream is followed by strawberry jelly.

Just to taste like the jelly

that you get in them little packets

that we all know and love.

Cornflowers give the dish more colour with the Be a no and Dandy

characters on the side.

I love that it's black and white. Now I've just got

to do my little rocks that Dennis would have in his slingshot.

Ready? Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Ooh-la-la. My dish is called Food Fight and my inspiration is

the famous Be a no and Dandy food fight scene from the comic.

What do you think, guys? Very colourful.

Definitely a food fight.

Let's go and try one, then.

Good luck, Chef. Thank you.

Are you happy with all the different elements coming together?

The aesthetics of black and red being the colours of the characters

was the main focus in terms of visual.

Wow. Heavens! There's a lot happening here, isn't there?

Temperature contrast, texture contrast.

It all marries together beautifully.

Is it annoying?

Yeah. THEY LAUGH

Are you happy with the flavour that you got from the sponge

you tried tasting earlier? Oh, yeah. I'm happy with that.

And the texture, I quite enjoy it. Then all the variations

of the strawberry - you've got strawberry jelly.

Are you happy with the consistency and the flavour?

Super-soft, tastes just like that little packet.

It's definitely the nicest tasting coloured gel I've ever had. Right.

Yeah.

The addition of the long pepper in the custard,

do you think it's the right strength or...?

I think it's a little too much. OK. Lingering, isn't it?

Yeah. It's very nice.

Do you think this dessert of yours is banquet-worthy?

I don't think so yet.

What would you change, then?

The pepper has frustrated me.

Let's have scores. Kevin.

I hate to say it, but I might have to give him a ten again.

I'd agree. I think it's a ten.

So then, what would you score your dish? I'd score my dish a 7.

How was that, Adam?

I wasn't happy with the custard.

It was just too spicy. We loved it.

Yeah, it was nice. We loved that spice. Bar that, I was happy.

Needing a big score for Paddington's Night At The Opera,

Kevin tempers chocolate for the top layer of his cake, and freezes.

Do you want me to spread these plates out? Yes, please.

He portions the layered cake while Adam cuts

the chocolate tuile top.

You know, it's melting.

Yeah, pop it back in a bit, then.

So it goes back into the freezer

while Kevin plates the chocolate soil and pipes more mousse.

All under Tom's watchful eye.

Do they work? They do, yeah.

You've got nine minutes, Kevin.

Can I be early? Yeah. You're going to be early? Course you can.

How's our chocolate, Chef? Still soft, mate.

The chocolate tops might scupper any chance of being early.

I can see all the detail on the cake from here.

But with time to spare, Kevin makes the call that the chocolate

is finally hard enough. Straight on? Straight on.

Tell me about the colours.

Chocolate tuile is Paddington's colours. Nice.

The orange and cardamom ice cream sits on top of the chocolate soil,

followed by cocoa nib and pistachio tuiles.

It's served to the civilised sounds of the opera.

OPERATIC SINGING

Pass the glasses, old chap. Tally-ho.

This is Paddington's Night At The Opera and the inspiration

is obviously Paddington Bear.

All right. Well, let's get going.

Good luck, Chef. Thanks very much.

Happy? Kind of.

I mean, it's really very hot in that kitchen so you can see

the mousse is slightly, slightly wet.

I think he was a little bit too excited to be up a little early.

He should have taken that time in that blast chiller. Right.

Not the neatest thing in the world,

but I don't think I'm one to judge on that.

Ancl then you're happy with the sponge in terms of the texture?

Yeah, sponge is great.

It's bang-on and I soaked that with some Grand Marnier syrup.

It's got a lovely flavour to it.

A little bit more attention to detail on the cake

cos it is the main event. Ancl then the ice cream?

Do you think it's got the right level of orange flavour?

Yeah, there's different levels of orange. I can taste each one.

It's a little sweet. There's something a little eggy.

I think that's the custard not cooked out enough.

So then, what would you give your dish?

I'll go for an 8.

It's a strong 8 for me.

I'd give it a 7.

Do you think you've clone enough?

I hope so.

But, you know, you just never know in this kitchen.

Hiya, boys. Big man. How was that?

Yeah, it's hard. You're happy?

It's always a gamble. You know, I knocked my cake in

in this kind of time, but, yeah, we've got to wait and see.

Desserts are over.

Thank God. Two of the chefs' desserts were definitely below par.

Yes. I think Adam did very well with his dish.

I was quite blown away by it.

Yeah, his dish was, I think, very fitting to the brief,

but above all, it tasted good as well.

Fingers crossed. Shall we go and see what he says, then?

Let's do it. Good luck, everyone. Good luck, guys.

Adam is on 27 points,

Mark 24 and Kevin 20.

Hello, Chefs.

OK. Mark, for your dish, One Emotion At A Time,

it was a nice presentation at the pass with the lantern.

I just wanted more connection to the story on the plate.

I thought the strawberry sorbet was the best part of the dish.

Smooth and slightly spiced flavour from the hogweed seeds.

It was a nice touch.

The yoghurt and honey cake,

it was a little bit too dense and didn't have enough flavour.

The sugar basket could have been much more delicate.

I felt it was a little bit almost novice-like.

The smoked strawberry compote,

the smoky flavour of that just completely ruined some of the other

delicate flavours that you had going on.

Overall, though, way too many errors and it needed some refinement.

Adam, for your dish, Food Fight,

you definitely brought food fight to the plate.

It was organised chaos and very playful.

I loved the burnt butter cake texturally

and it had a lovely meadowsweet flavour.

The jelly was a little bit on the soft side.

Personally, I'd like a little bit more of a firmer wobble.

The long pepper creme brulee is a little bit too spicy,

so next time, just tone it down.

But overall, a dish with bags of potential,

so well clone. Thank you.

Kevin, for your dish,

Paddington's Night At The Opera,

I thought the presentation was good fun and the opera cake

followed the story through to the plate.

The opera cake, though, I thought the sponge was definitely

a little bit too dense and I didn't feel that the marmalade flavour

came through enough.

The chocolate mousse was too sweet and too runny.

Overall, though, I thought the dish definitely had some potential,

but as we know, at this level, needs to be executed properly.

And so, to the scores.

Adam, I'm scoring you...

...an 8.

I absolutely adored this dessert.

Contrasting textures and temperatures,

wonderful on the pass as well. Brilliant. Thank you.

Mark, I'm scoring you...

...a 5.

Mark, if you cook this again, you really need to look at

the foundations. Take on board all of Tom's advice. Yeah.

And, Kevin...

...I'm scoring you...

...a 6.

So that means,

Kevin, you'll be leaving us.

It's been so wonderful to have your enthusiasm

and passion all week, it really has. Thank you.

So, Adam and Mark, very good luck tomorrow.

Please take on some of my advice, and I definitely expect one

of you two to get through to the banquet.

Thanks very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Well done, sir. You all right?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, fine.

You've got a big job to do. A lot to do tomorrow. Yeah. Yeah. Hopefully

you can get a dish to the banquet. We'll try our best, won't we?

Yeah, we're going to get one at least.

One is enough. THEY LAUGH

I feel immensely proud to be able to cook for the judges.

I know how hard it is, though.

I was here last year and I wanted it. This year I want it even more.

Yeah, a bit disappointed, obviously, not to get to the final.

But, yeah, I mean, I think my family will be proud of me and hopefully

some of Scotland will be proud of me.

I'm delighted to get to cook for the judges.

I didn't want to allow myself to hope that I could get this far.

The plan for tomorrow has to be to take on all of Tom's advice

and then just really go for it.

We've had some amazing dishes this week. I have to say,

the Scots have clone themselves proud.

Next time, our two successful chefs

cook for the judges, and things are getting tense.

I'm going to make that man over there as nervous as I can.

The rivalry builds... Your celeriac's burning. Made you look.

...between our finalists. You happy with the temperature of your canape, Adam?

Yeah. That's a shame. Which of these talented chefs will come out on top?

The winner of the Scotland heat is...