Original subtitles

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

Oh-la-la!

..are heading to the Great British Menu kitchen.

Hot stuff coming through.

They're competing to cook a course at a magnificent banquet,

one of the most prestigious prizes in a chef's career.

Rock and roll!

This year, the banquet is celebrating Britain's triumphs

in the world of illustration and animation.

Stop...motion...action!

Wow!

Inspired by the 65th birthday

of the nation's favourite bear, Paddington,

we're raising a glass

to the full range of illustrated and animated delights...

Look at that, amazing!

..from cartoon series to computer games and comics...

..but reputations are at stake...

I wave the white flag.

..as some of the most eminent Michelin-starred veteran chefs

of the competition...

No, I'm not giving out points for confidence, right?

..those dependable old hands...

Snakes. It's snakes! Yeah!

..and bright young guns...

One each. Oh, you're too kind.

..will be returning to cast judgment.

I'm scoring you a ten.

I would give you an 11 if I could.

The chefs will need to come up with dishes

which tell a story and capture the imagination.

It's amazing!

Just as the likes of Mr Bean, Rupert Bear, Pingu, and Fireman Sam

delight their audience...

Back-up career.

..the chefs must thrill the exacting panel of judges...

It's absolutely buzzing with flavour, isn't it?

..who are searching for perfection on a plate.

Tom, so nice to see you!

What?!

Of course they are - it's Great British Menu.

Game on, people!

This week, it's chefs from the Central region

who are battling it out.

Ugh.

Trying to do different things in your mouth.

This week, the most talented chefs from the central belt of England

will be drawing inspiration from the most memorable cartoons,

picture books and video games in their region.

There'll be creative interpretations of Pac-Man,

the lovable Pingu, and even Fungus The Bogeyman.

First up is newcomer Thom Bateman

who's made a name as a social media chef

and runs his own restaurant in Staffordshire.

I'm incredibly excited to be in the Great British Menu kitchen.

It's like a crazy whirlwind of an experience.

Next, another first-timer, Kareem Roberts.

Raised in Antigua,

he's now head chef at a fine-dining restaurant in Cambridge.

Hello. How's it going? Kareem. Tom. Nice to meet you, Tom.

Arms are heavy, knees weak.

I'm feeling... I'm feeling OK. Feeling OK.

It's been a mad experience, huh?

Also competing is newcomer Tom Shepherd -

chef patron of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Lichfield.

How are you feeling? It's crazy, right?

Absolutely crazy.

I'm feeling nervous, naturally.

But equally, the chef inside of me is telling me

to get the pans rattling and start showcasing what I can do.

Finally, Marianne Lumb, a high-end private-events caterer

who first appeared on Great British Menu five years ago.

Good to be back? Good to be back.

It took me five years to recover. No, I'm joking! Stop that, man.

I'm absolutely pumped.

You can almost see the energy in the air.

I just can't wait to get cooking.

You're not feeling any more relaxed? I feel worse now.

Hello, chefs. It's all right, you don't need to stand to attention!

But it's lovely to see you all!

Tom, how are you feeling? Good. Good. Yeah. A little nervous.

Use all of that.

Another Thom? Yes. Ready for battle? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, just about.

Kareem, how are you, darling? Are you a bit nervous. Poquito.

Everybody's un poquito nervous in this kitchen. Yeah, yeah.

Marianne! How gorgeous to see you. Lovely to see you.

Three brand-new faces and one very welcome returning friend.

This is going to be a really excellent week.

Yes! Yes! Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I will see you soon.

Canapes are the chefs' first job.

They're not scored but will be ranked to decide a tie-break.

Thom is dicing venison

which he'll be serving in beef fat pastry tartlets.

Everyone's very serious now.

Whoops.

Kareem is spicing things up by adding cured sea trout

to curried compote

which he'll serve on a lavash cracker.

Better when you have a knife in your hand, isn't it?

Yeah. This is the easy part, isn't it?

Marianne is frying sourdough

for her elevated cheese and tomato sandwich.

Whilst Tom is making a tuna sashimi croustade, dressed in ponzu,

with a soy mayonnaise and chive garnish.

This is a little tool that you thread the chives through

and it essentially makes curls.

They're all cooking to impress their mystery veteran chef.

So, if I said to you... Angela Hartnett?

Yeah, I'd be terrified.

What about Michael O'Hare, Marianne?

I think that's uncharted territory for me. I wouldn't know.

That man gives fours and sixes!

So, what about, er... Paul Ainsworth, Tom?

He's one of my biggest idols, to be fair.

So, I'd be honoured if he was to judge our food this week. Yeah.

Tommy Banks. Tom?

Yeah, a lot of Toms, wouldn't there! Yeah, there would be, yeah.

A trio of Toms. How would you feel about Tommy Banks?

Very excited. Someone who I look up to a lot.

Quite inspiring. He's brilliant. He's absolutely brilliant.

So, it could be any one of those.

Gird your loins and make sure that your canapes

are the absolute best that they can possibly be.

I'll see you later. Perfect.

Heading their way is a chef who served his dessert

at the banquet in 2011,

holder of a Michelin star for ten years

and now has an empire of restaurants in Cornwall.

All right, that is time.

Ooh.

It's Paul Ainsworth.

How are you feeling, chefs? Good. Really good. Good.

Yeah? Right. What have we got?

So, we've got a venison tartare tart

which is roe deer tartare dressed in fermented chilli oil.

Chef? So, we've got a sourdough spelt cracker

with a smoked tomato jelly

and then just cubes of

Montgomery's Cheddar and Sparkenhohe Red Leicester.

Chef, what have we got?

There's a little croustade of sashimi tuna,

dressed in a ponzu dressing,

with a soy emulsion and a dashi jelly on top.

What have we got?

So, we basically have a fish curry on crackers.

So, I have a cumin lavash.

Then, we have cured trout with a curried mayonnaise.

OK, chefs, listen up.

Get the storytelling right. Enjoy it...

..but focus.

Yes, chef. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

My first thoughts when Paul walked through was just excitement.

He's such an inspirational chef, and I love his style of cooking.

He gave absolutely nothing away.

He's certainly not going to do us any favours.

Starting with my favourite was the tuna in the croustade

from Tom.

Really clean, really fresh.

Everything you want from a one-biter.

That's banging, mate. Perfect size. Delicious.

Second, Marianne.

Lovely size. Lots of detail. Delicious.

That feels like a sandwich!

Well done. That's wicked, that is. Nice freshness, that.

The other Thom, that venison tartare in the lovely pastry case -

really delicious.

That's a roller-coaster of flavours. Yeah.

That's my kind of thing right there.

The weakest one for me was Kareem purely because it was very spicy.

Woo! Yeah, yeah. It's suppose to hot, man. Drink water, guys.

Yeah, yeah. No...that is just made-up.

So, on to starters. Yes!

OK, right, then. Celeriac...celeriac.

The dishes the chefs have designed

all have to link to our theme of animation and illustration.

But with a twist this year, the starters have to be plant-based.

This is the best pumpkin you can get in the UK.

Kareem's inspiration is a children's stop-motion animation

created in Great Yarmouth.

Hello, Kareem. How's it going, guys?

How are you, Kareem? Settling. Good. Settling! Yeah, yeah.

So, Kareem, tell us the name of your dish

and what's the inspiration behind it?

The name of my dish is Slugsy's Cauliflower Crumble

and it's inspired by Fifi and The Flowertots.

Let's get down on these ingredients.

Like, you've got the cauliflower, and a pumpkin ragu.

Yes. It's a loose ragu in the fact that

it's actually going to be crushed pumpkin,

and the base, the liquid is going to be a rundown

which is a West Indian tomato and oil and red pepper-based

kind of stew element.

And then, we layer that in the crumble

with sunflower seed, sour cream, get some acidity from that.

Then we have some pickled cauliflower.

Any worries for you?

A minute lasts a few seconds in this kitchen, you know?

That's very true. I'm trying to do different things in your mouth.

Garlic powder...

Marianne's vegan dish is inspired by the cartoons

in satirical magazine Private Eye.

My starter is Private Eye Pork Pie.

So, I was born in Melton Mowbray.

I love pork pies.

Pork pie - Cockney rhyming slang for lie. Lie.

So, it's a kind of vegan pork pie, basically.

Like a little satirical take on a pork pie? Indeed.

How are you going to make that filling?

So, I've taken my three blend of peppercorns

to try and liken it to a pork pie. Here? Yeah.

So, they're going to be blended.

And then, I'm also putting a Braeburn apple through it,

and then the chickpeas are going to be pureed.

Enclosed in a hot watercrust pastry.

So, obviously, it's a challenge to do it without lard.

What are we going to serve with this pork pie?

So, some cashew and macadamia nut cheese. Yeah.

I really can't wait to see how this turns out for you, darling.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Marianne.

Tom's inspiration is a notoriously hungry and yellow

computer game character from the 1980s.

To get the colour he needs, he's blending beetroots with pear juice

for a beetroot jelly.

It's very close, isn't it? I know.

But to get the effect he wants, his yellow jelly needs to set.

So, the title of this dish is pretty simple - Pac-Man.

Let's get down to the ingredients. Yeah. The beetroot.

Golden beetroot is the prime ingredient of this dish.

Yeah. The colour of the Pac-Man. Exactly, yeah.

So, how are you going to cook these beetroots?

So, we're going to juice. Yeah.

We're also going to make a dressing from them as well.

The main element is the cooked version of the beetroot

which we're going to salt bake. Yeah.

I love the smoked almonds. Yes, I'm bringing a smoked emulsion

into the dish as well, like, a mayonnaise.

What's your biggest worry with this dish?

The balance is a big one with this one.

There's a lot of smoke, a lot of acidity. A lot of fattiness as well.

Different types of sweetness with the beetroot and the pear.

Sounds a great dish. Thank you so much. Thank you, dear.

For his starter, our other Thom is making ketchup

using black garlic, Medjool dates, and roasted Braeburn apples.

He also has a lot of celeriac to prepare

for the centrepiece of his dish.

I never, ever want to see a celeriac ever again.

It's not true. I love them, really.

The inspiration for his dish is a computer game called Dragonology,

made in Warwickshire.

Talk to me about the dish.

I take it the celeriac is kind of a main focal point? Yeah.

I'm going to compress it with soy, miso, mirin and rice vinegar

for that real boost of umami.

Is the celeriac thinly sliced? What's the shape?

That's a little bit of a secret, right? What's the...?

Right, OK, that's fine. OK. That's absolutely fine.

There's going to be celeriac puree as well.

I'll caramelise the celeriac.

And the Sichuan, that is for the pickled pink onions or red onions.

Yeah. So, just a bit of bite.

And where do the potatoes feature?

That's... That's another little secret, I'm afraid!

All so secret!

Lots of secrets going on here, isn't there!

All right, Secrets Tom!

We look forward to seeing your dish.

Excellent. Thank you. Thanks, Tom.

Kareem gets his Caribbean rundown underway

by sauteing onions and red peppers.

It's going to get a little loud.

Marianne is making the pastry for her vegan pork pie

using spelt, wheat and chickpea flour

with nut butter and coconut oil.

Your cauliflower OK, buddy?

Perfect.

Marianne starts shaping her pie crust.

But without the conventional fats, the texture is proving tricky.

It's not like a normal hot water crust pastry

because there isn't lard in it.

If I handle it too much, you need a chainsaw to cut it.

Brummie Thom is peeling Comice pears

which will be compressed for the base of his Pac-Man starter.

That's a pear, that, isn't it? It smells good.

That is a pear, chef, that is.

And talking of pear shape...

That's going to go in the bin.

..his beetroot and pear jelly hasn't set as he'd hoped.

My jelly's not proper aerated,

so I need to juice some more beetroots,

juice some more pear, and get another jelly on.

He's not the only Tom with problems.

Our other Thom has sherry vinegar caramel dressing issues.

It has crystallised, so I'm going to start it again.

Essentially, I took my eye off it,

so not getting a smooth, dark caramel.

So, Paul, starters, and this year, it's all plant-based cookery.

How are you feeling about that?

When you hit that sweet spot of just an amazing dish

that is, like, no protein, no dairy - that's an amazing thing.

And I think it's going to test these chefs to their limits.

To make his smoked mayonnaise,

Tom is blitzing Chardonnay vinegar, smoked grapeseed oil,

Dijon mustard and beetroot juice.

Kareem is blanching cauliflower florets for his ragu,

and he's blitzing roasted cauliflower with sunflower seeds

to make a cream.

So, a bit to do but I have eyes on everything.

Time is always a worry in here, man.

There is no comfort, only pressure.

Kareem grew up in Antigua

but is now head chef at Trinity Restaurant in Cambridge.

I started cooking at 25, much later in life than most of my peers,

and I fell in love with fine dining.

I left my island of Antigua to move to the UK

to get a better understanding of what fine dining was.

Flavour is the most important thing

but what sets you apart from the herd is how it looks.

When I moved to England, Great British Menu

was the first bit of gastronomical programming that I found.

I like elite cookery, man, and this is about as elite as it gets.

Ultimately, I want a Michelin star, man.

A lot of chefs say, oh, the stars don't matter.

Shut up! They do.

I'm very proud to be representing the Central region

and I just hope that I can live up to the expectations.

Service.

In the kitchen, Kareem is passing his rundown

to make it silky smooth.

Rundown. This is the rundown

which is essentially a West Indian tomato sauce. Yeah.

The root elements are red peppers, tomatoes and coconut milk.

Excellent. Thank you, Kareem. Thank you.

The rundown is delicious. The spicing on it is absolutely spot-on.

My worry is I don't see a lot else going on.

And he seems to be cruising.

Just doing a bit of carving, you know. Carving some celeriac? Yeah.

Thom Bateman is creating egg shapes from his celeriac

ready for the water bath,

and cutting thin potato rounds for his Dragonology starter.

Right. I know there's lots of secrets to this dish,

but have you got anything that I can try so far? Yeah, absolutely.

The ketchup is ready. The ketchup?

So, this is the black garlic, apple and date? That's it.

Are you happy with this? Yeah.

I think it's about the sweet, savoury bit of everything.

The main component that I know you're keeping close to your chest,

are you happy with that? It's quite tricky because

there's a bit of carving involved.

Believe in yourself. Thank you. Thank you.

I can see he's worried about this main element

that he won't tell us about and how he's going to bring that together.

I think it's quite complex and I think that's worrying him.

After the failure of his first beetroot jelly,

and with time running out,

Tom Shepherd needs a better result with this batch second time around.

He's also creating a ketchup using pear juice, sugar

and apple cider vinegar for his Pac-Man dish.

Hello, Tom. Chef, how are you? How are you, are you OK? Yeah. Good.

Are you happy with the cooking of the beetroot? Very much so, yeah.

So this is the pear ketchup? Pear ketchup, yeah.

It's got a bit of sweetness, obviously, naturally.

This is the smoked mayonnaise.

All right. Tom, good luck. Thank you, chef. Thank you so much.

The ketchup that he gave me to try, delicious.

Right level of sweetness, balanced with acidity.

The smoked mayonnaise, on the other hand, I found quite acrid.

North Staffs Thom is making a ketchup, too,

although he's using black garlic, apple and dates.

He's also halving the celeriac egg shapes

and carefully covering them in potato scales.

For the crab apple jelly in her pork pie,

Marianne is reducing crab apple cordial,

cider vinegar and granulated sugar.

Just the natural pectin's in there that sets it.

So I've going to shake it right down...and then chop it.

The magic of Mother Nature.

Marianne is planning on opening her own restaurant,

but today she's catering for the Duchess of Rutland

at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire.

I get commissioned to do high-end dinners,

and that involves getting the most beautiful local ingredients

and cooking them really well.

They're normally really special events,

and it's a real honour to be part of something like that

where you're creating food that's going to be, hopefully,

in someone's memory for years.

My style as a chef,

it's very heavily based on classical techniques,

and I just try and get as much flavour into there as possible.

Five years ago, I was a contestant on Great British Menu.

I was so happy I got through to the finals

and represented the Central region.

But I was just pipped at the post,

didn't get a menu through to the banquet

and, obviously, that's what it's all about.

Service, please.

I hope, this time, I'll get one or two or more dishes through.

Back in the kitchen, for her meat-free pork pie,

Marianne is mixing a filling of chickpeas, pureed apple

and her blend of three different ground peppercorns.

Beware, because the peppers are quite strong.

But once you eat it in the pie,

it kind of balances out. It balances out.

Right. I know you've got a lot to do. Good luck.

Thank you, chef. All right. Thank you.

Now, I like pepper, I really, really do.

And it is high.

She assures me that it balances out when it goes into the pie

and it's encased in the pastry

and that crab apple jelly goes in there. We'll wait and see.

Kareem's will be the first starter to be tasted.

He's serving his dish in plant pots.

First in is his rundown ragu.

Delicious! So, it's a Caribbean tomato sauce of sorts.

Next, he layers in sunflower and roasted cauliflower sour cream...

Nice.

..followed by pickled cauliflower.

Two minutes to the pass, please, Kareem, two minutes. Oui, chef.

Next, Kareem adds crumble made from breadcrumbs,

pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Loads of sunflower seeds, obviously.

Yeah. You see, someone gets it.

Seeds going into a flowerpot, right?

He garnishes with marigold flowers, micro red-veined sorrel

and lemon balm.

OK, Kareem, you are due to the pass now. Oui.

Done. First course out.

So, the name of the dish is Slugsy's Cauliflower Crumble. Yeah.

And the inspiration is Fifi And The Flowertots.

Right, let's go taste.

First one! Here we go, people!

The pickled cauliflower... Yeah.

..is that pickled enough?

I'd have liked it to have been pickled just a bit more.

The guy knows flavour.

Yeah, the cauliflower and the pumpkin at the bottom are tasty.

They've still got their identity, which I really like.

They're nice and sharp once you get at them

but the pieces of cauliflower are a touch too big, in my opinion.

Are you happy with the crumble on top?

The crumble acts as a seasoning as well, to get a little add

to the earthiness.

The issue I have with the plate, it's a bit mushy.

I agree. Maybe balance issues with each mouthful.

Kareem, if you had to score yourself on this dish out of ten,

what would you give yourself? 7.5.

I think it's a bit too large.

Maybe I could have improved on the texture of the crumble.

I think I would score him a six.

I think a six. I think I'm going to complete the trio.

I think six is a fair score.

How are you doing, bud? Oh, boy.

You're not really prepared until you get in there, are you?

Tom's starter is next,

but if his beetroot and pear jelly hasn't set properly, his dish

is a nonstarter.

It's absolutely perfect now. Absolutely perfect.

Finally he can start to create his Pac-Men.

First onto the plate is his salt-baked golden beetroot.

And then I'm going to go around these compressed pears. Mm-mm.

That mayonnaise is fire, Chef.

He dresses with chopped smoked almonds...

One minute to the pass, Tom. Chef.

..and finally, his Pac-Man pear and beetroot jelly.

That is so cool, man. Thank you, Chef.

OK, Chef. Excellent. Can I push the button now?

Right, let's go taste.

Are we getting Pac-Man? Definitely. Full Pac-Man vibes?

Yeah. For sure.

Right, let's start with the jelly.

I'm really happy with the jelly. It's set really well.

I think this is a marvellous ode to beetroot, to be honest.

It's irritatingly good.

The cooking of the beetroots, just as you want them?

Exactly how I wanted them.

I could do with a little bit more acidity on the beetroot.

In terms of a starter, it doesn't feel too small?

It feels like a great way to start a banquet?

I've taken into consideration that it's a six-course tasting menu.

I feel that I have sized that appropriately.

It's kind of almost like a tasting dish

rather than a starter maybe? Yeah.

If you were scoring this dish, out of ten, what would

you give this, Tom? I would sort of like a large score,

around about probably eight.

Why have you taken two points off?

I think mainly for size.

I'm going to give him an eight. I'm going to give him an eight.

Seven. But seven is good!

Seven is good.

How was it, Chef?

Oh, it's so nerve-racking.

Thom's next with his mystery dish called Dragonology.

His cloak-and-dagger approach has heightened mine

and Paul's expectations.

So let's hope he can deliver.

With the celeriac eggs out of the oven, they are halved, scooped out,

and filled with caramelised celeriac puree.

Oh, look! It looks amazing.

Sherry vinegar caramel is first onto rocky terrain plates.

Is that black garlic?

It is, so that's black garlic, apple and date ketchup.

Are you happy with everything, Thom?

I had three goes at my sherry vinegar caramel,

but other than that...

Next goes the roasted celeriac, filled with celeriac puree,

and coated in crispy potato scales.

It does look like a Faberge egg, man. Yeah.

Just a bit of apple blossom, a bit of extra sharpness.

Finally, he serves with burning embers

and the Dragonology theme music.

Very atmospheric.

Wowser. Amazing!

So, this is Dragonology and it's inspired by the computer

game of the same name.

OK, let's go taste. Enjoy.

Good luck, Chef.

Dragon egg is what I'm getting.

We're getting dragon egg, aren't we? So cool!

Talk to me about the egg. Is that executed exactly

how you wanted it to be? The cooking's just right.

So it's stable, but it's still nice and tender and stuff.

Considering that's a dragon's egg, I get it, man.

I thought this was fire, man.

The centre of the egg, the caramelised celeriac puree,

happy with that? Yes.

It gives another sort of bit of warmth to it.

Mm. Yeah, I can taste that. It's lovely.

The black garlic, date and apple ketchup?

I think it's a nice sweetness, savouriness,

but there's some sort of acidity in there.

That ketchup is absolutely delicious.

If you were to score this dish out of ten? I'd give myself

an eight for this, as it stands. Potentially a bit more acidity.

I think I'd give it a nine. It's a nine for me.

I'm going to lean towards nine because I can't fault this dish.

How did you get on? Hello, hello. How was it? Good, I think.

Oh!

Marianne's vegan starter is up next.

She's serving pork-free pork pies

with a macadamia and cashew nut cheese.

Three minutes to the pass.

She's also preparing pickled red onions

and an apple sauce garnish.

It's just literally Bramley apple puree.

So, Bramley apples cooked down with a little bit

of lemon and sugar. Yep.

It's served with a special Great British Menu edition

of the dish's inspiration.

Marianne. So, it's Private Eye Pork Pie,

inspired by Private Eye magazine.

Right, let's go taste.

Can't wait to try this. Let's have a go. Let's have a go.

The hot water crust, are you happy with the texture?

It's very short, but I think it adds quite good texture to the dish.

A little tough for me.

The same, actually. A bit too short. A bit too hard.

The filling,

are you happy with the balance of the pepper and the moistness?

I'm happy with the pepper and the moistness.

Could maybe put a tiny bit more crab apple jelly

in that, cos I think that makes the whole thing sing.

I'm happy we've had this last, with all due respect.

It's really, really strong. It sort of builds, the pepper.

The cashew nut cheese, happy?

Happy. Yeah, I think the flavour's good.

It's not really doing it for me, unfortunately.

Marianne, if you were to score this dish,

what would you give yourself?

I think maybe cos of the pastry, maybe a seven.

I think six. I'm going to go seven.

I think six for me.

Hi! How was that?

Oh, I don't know!

And they're off, Paul. Yes, they are.

Four starters, four very different chefs.

What are you thinking? They are four very competent chefs

who are here to really impress.

And what I'm looking for is excellence,

and every single one of those dishes today had faults.

Paul's our judge. Been there and done it.

Gone to the banquet. Steely-eyed. Yeah.

He is steely-eyed.

Not a bad start. Not a bad start.

Not the greatest of starts. But not a bad start.

But not a bad start.

So, we didn't hit the ground running,

but we certainly got to a jog.

Right, Kareem, I'm going to start with you.

Your dish, Slugsy's Cauliflower Crumble,

I like the playful link to children and the presentation.

The rundown was amazing.

The warmth, the acidity, that high umami

coming from the tomatoes.

The cauliflower needed more pickling, and was a bit too big.

The crumble, for me, it could deliver more in flavour.

It's very much a dish that's led by eating it with a spoon.

After the third, fourth spoon, it all becomes a bit the same.

Tom, for your dish, Pac-Man...

Link to the brief was brilliant.

The beetroot base, found in that beetroot dressing,

was delicious. But was it big enough?

I don't think it was.

I think that you need to make a bit more of that smoked mayonnaise.

Tone the smoke down a little bit, so you can put a bit

more of it on there.

Thom, for your dish, Dragonology...

..the presentation was excellent.

The celeriac, beautifully roasted.

However, you need to do more work on those potato scales.

I want them to be more crisp.

That black garlic, apple and date ketchup was inspired.

I loved it.

If I shut my eyes and eat that dish, Thom, I wouldn't be able to tell

that that was plant-based, and that was the genius for me

of the dish.

Marianne, for your dish,

Private Eye Pork Pie...

..the presentation of this dish was outstanding.

The pie filling, for me, was a bit dry.

The pepper, yes, it did calm down when it went into the pie.

But, cor, it is right up there.

It really does get you on the throat.

The pastry was just too short.

The texture of it was quite dry.

The cheese, it was just a bit bland.

It just didn't deliver for me.

And so to the scores.

Kareem...

..I'm giving you...

..five.

Kareem, that dish had bags of flavour, but you do definitely

need to work on the refinement with this one.

Tom...

..I'm scoring you...

..seven.

This dish had brilliant execution, but there was something missing.

Thom...

..I'm scoring you...

..eight.

Brilliant caramelisation on this dish, but I wanted

more creamy puree. It was delicious.

Marianne...

..I'm scoring you...

..six. Thank you.

Some of the gastronomy, as Paul has said, didn't quite hit the point,

but immaculate presentation, as always.

So, onto the fish course.

Get your heads down, focus and come out fighting.

Thank you. Thank you, chefs. Thank you, Chef.

Well done.

Well done. Well done.

Come on, let's go fighting. We got this, we got this. We got this.

Next up, it's the fish course,

and with Paul an expert in fish cookery,

the chefs will have to dig deep.

Someone's going home after this course. How does everyone feel?

Nervy. Yeah, nervy, man, right now.

Especially me, man.

My word, I've got my work cut out for me.

I'm ready for fish. And I need to be getting at least a nine for this.

I am a little disappointed, but that's fine. That's fine.

I'm going to give it the best that I can, and hopefully

I'll be here to talk about this tomorrow.

Currently in last place is Kareem, who's preparing a spinach

and seaweed yoghurt for his fish course.

So, Kareem, tell me about your fish dish.

So, the title of my dish is Bogeyfood,

and it's inspired by Fungus the Bogeyman.

I'm doing a coarse duxelles of mushroom, and then I'm going

to make a veloute of mushrooms and spirulina. To get it green?

Well, to enhance the greenness of it.

And then I'm going to marinate my loin of cod in the green yoghurt,

which is spinach and seaweed.

Yeah. And then after I roast it, I'm going to serve it

with Messiah mushrooms.

So, that marinade, that yoghurt and everything, goes

all around the cod? Yes.

Tikka kind of style in the way it's cooked?

It's inspired by tandoori, actually, when you think about it.

Anything you're worried about on this dish?

You guys.

You guys. You can smile.

Respect, Chef. Go for it. Cheers, darling.

Chef, easy on the hands!

Like Kareem, Tom is also preparing a cod loin,

and he has a familiar inspiration, too.

So, this is basically Fungus the Bogeyman's Breakfast,

and I'm recreating what Fungus eats, actually, for his breakfast.

Oh. Rotten shaddock and flaked corn, so I'm going to incorporate those.

It's what, sorry? Rotten shaddock, which is a type of grapefruit.

Oh, look at that! So obviously this isn't rotten.

Well, thank the gods and goddesses for that.

But look at that. Have you seen it? Beautiful, innit? Yeah.

So, what fish are you actually making?

I'm using cod, sustainable cod.

I'm taking literally the centre loin out of that cod.

And then equally it's pour your own breakfast, so you've got a milk jug

on there. It's going to be filled with champagne fish veloute.

Then I've got the little cereal boxes as well, filled with the...

I call it a flaked corn granola.

So you're going to have little nods throughout to breakfast? Absolutely.

Sounds fantastic. Nice one.

Thank you so much, Chef. Good luck. Thank you so much.

Tom starts work on his veloute by sweating off the shallots

and garlic before adding his champagne.

Tom is chef-owner of Michelin-starred restaurant

Upstairs, which is above his dad's shop in Litchfield.

Being able to own my own restaurant is an incredible achievement that

I'm very proud of. The first time I stepped into a kitchen,

it really did feel like it was a place where it suited me,

my personality. And from there I went on to work

in Michelin kitchens.

Career highlights, I think, obviously gaining a Michelin star

here within four months was incredible.

Ice cream on? Yes, Chef.

There's no dish without flavour.

It can look as pretty as it wants. If it didn't taste right,

it's not a dish, in my opinion.

I'm going to do everything in my power to try and get at least

one dish to the banquet.

Service.

Back in the kitchen, Marianne is sauteing shiitake mushrooms,

onion and garlic for a broth.

Hey, Marianne, tell us all about your fish dish.

OK, so it's Pingu's Sustainable Fish Soup. Oh, we love a bit of Pingu.

Excellent. Who doesn't love Pingu? Yeah.

So, basically, the narrator Marc Silk comes from Solihull

in the West Midlands.

I'm making a shiitake and kelp broth. Yeah, lovely.

So that's kind of basically the ocean. Yeah.

And then I'm going to do some barbecued mackerel that's going in.

Lovely way to cook mackerel, right? For me, the best way.

And then there's lots of seaweed going on in it as well,

because Pingu loves his ocean.

We've got a little spicy crumb to go with the soup,

that's going to be sprinkled on,

that he keeps in his little bindle on a stick. Yeah.

We can't wait to see it, Marianne. Good luck, my darling. Thank you.

Thank you, Marianne. Thank you.

Marianne gets straight to it,

coating her mackerel in oil, lemon and black pepper.

Oy! He swam off the thing.

The only worry for me on this dish, Andi, is acidity. Right.

Is there going to be enough of it to balance with that lovely

oily mackerel and that rich seaweed broth?

Currently out in front is Thom, who's also using the barbecue

for his burnt leeks.

He's filleting hake.

Leader of the pack, sir. Yes, yeah, yeah.

Very happy with that. I'm sure.

Tell us about your fish dish, please.

So, the name of the dish is What's Under Korky's Hat?

And the inspiration is Korky the Cat, who was a mainline feature

in The Dandy comics. From The Dandy!

The strip was illustrated by a guy called Charlie Grigg,

who was from the West Midlands.

So, I've got some lovely hake. We'll sear it on both sides.

Then we've got some burnt leeks, cauliflower puree,

pickled cauliflower stalks.

So, the monkfish cheeks, I'm going to make a tempura batter.

And then we'll finish it off with a dill and caper mayonnaise.

I'm interested to see how you're going to link kind of like

the monkfish cheeks and the hake,

and that that doesn't sort of be a bit confusing. Mm-mm.

What gives you the most concern on this dish?

I think the cooking of the hake, obviously super delicate.

The balance in the sauce is a big one.

Well, we wish you loads of luck, Thom. Thank you very much.

Keep up the good work. Cheers.

Meanwhile, for his fish course, Kareem is frying Messiah mushrooms.

Tom is mixing lemon with shaddock fruit flesh for his condiment...

That comes away nice, doesn't it? It does, yeah.

I mean, it still takes some sort of separating, but, yeah.

..and Marianne is preparing a seaweed salad

for her Pingu-inspired dish.

Marianne, how are you? Hi, Chef. Good, thank you. You OK? Yeah.

Excellent. Cracking on. So, this is the broth?

It's a lovely colour, isn't it? Thank you.

Right. I shall leave you to it. Thank you. See you in a bit.

Thank you.

I'm really excited by Marianne's dish.

The jalapeno in there is just right,

the umami coming from the seaweed,

and I just can't wait to taste it.

For his veloute,

Kareem is blitzing mushroom stock with onions, garlic and Parmesan.

He's blending half with spirulina, a green algae to make

it into "bogey food".

Kareem, how are you doing? Getting on with it, Chef. Yes.

Keeping busy. Excellent.

Is this the marinade that's going to go round the cod?

Yes, it is. It's a cooked yoghurt. Yeah.

Any concerns? Or are you feeling good?

I'm feeling OK, Chef. Excellent.

I asked Kareem after the starter to push himself,

and he's doing exactly that.

And I feel that his passion for seafood is really coming through.

I'm excited by Kareem's dish.

Thom is blending dill oil with egg yolk, sherry vinegar and mustard

to make an emulsion to go with his monkfish cheeks.

Thom Bateman's dish, there's a lot happening on this plate.

Everything he's using works,

but is he using too much of everything?

Meanwhile, Tom Shepherd is putting the finishing touches

to his champagne veloute.

Tom, you all right? Good, yeah. Busy. Can I taste your sauce?

Absolutely. This is a champagne veloute? Champagne veloute.

Very classic. I'll finish off with a little bit of lemon juice

and a little bit of sea salt as well, just to give it that sort of

intenseness. Right, I'll leave you to it. Thank you.

I'll tell you what, if the rest of his dish is as good

as that sauce, he is in for a high score.

Kareem portions and marinates his cod, ready for roasting...

..while Thom is using barbecue coals to make smoked butter.

It's become sort of my whole signature.

I'm fire obsessed.

It's just how to use it subtly to create big flavours.

Thom is chef patron of The Flintlock restaurant in Staffordshire.

I always wanted to be a chef from an early age.

When I first left school, I went straight into a kitchen,

which happens to be the kitchen of the building we're in now.

My cooking style is all rooted in nostalgia

and trying to tick boxes of memory.

It's elevating that sort of memory into an experience on a plate.

So I've embraced social media as a chef.

Potato pave is a wonderful thing.

I made lots of home cooking videos over the last couple of years,

which has blown up.

How long for that lamb sauce, please?

60 seconds, Chef.

Oui.

I absolutely consider myself an underdog in this competition.

I don't have the vast experience of many others.

However, that makes me a particularly interesting

competitor because I shouldn't win,

but I would like to.

Service, please.

Thom, how are you? Good, thank you, Chef. Good.

The dill and caper emulsion,

can I try that? Capers are yet to go in.

Yeah.

And then you're just going to fold through the chopped dill and capers?

Just capers. Just the capers.

I think the dill is strong enough. Right, Chef, I'm going to leave you

to it. All right? Good luck. See you soon. Cheers.

The dill emulsion - beautifully executed, and the balance

of dill was amazing.

I just hope it doesn't get all lost with all the other elements

on Thom's dish.

Tom Shepherd will be first to try and impress Paul Ainsworth.

Four minutes to the pass, Tom. Chef, thank you.

This is a little sort of granola crumble.

The granola is decanted into mini cereal packets

for his Bogeyman's Breakfast dish.

He plates his cod, kohlrabi,

and a rocher of caviar.

Tom, you're due to the pass now. Chef. Yep.

The champagne veloute is served in milk jugs on the side.

All right, Tom? Yes. Right.

Let's go taste. Enjoy.

Thank you. Good luck, Chef.

Thank you.

Ooh, look how that brings it to life. Good heavens.

Are you happy with how that cooking of the cod's come out?

Yeah, for me, that's the standout part of that dish, actually.

Let's start with the cooking on that fish.

That's gorgeous. Fish is cooked beautifully.

Obviously, you got the extra pops from the caviar.

And we know I like caviar. Obviously!

The sauce exactly how you want it?

If I was being honest, I'd probably reduce it a slight bit more.

I find that sauce so delightful.

I'm very happy eating this.

The shaddock, the pomelo, happy? Very happy.

Yeah, I think the condiment's there

to add a little bit of sweetness, a bit of sourness.

I think this is a stunning dish - visually, the balance of flavour,

I like the textures.

If you had to score this dish out of ten? I'm a little bit disappointed.

I think seven is probably a fair score for that dish.

I'd say that's a nine.

I'd give it an eight.

It's a strong nine for me. Fantastic.

Chef, how was that?

It was all right. I thought it could have been better.

We all strongly disagree.

Kareem is next.

Currently in last place,

he needs his Fungus the Bogeyman-inspired dish to deliver.

Amazing colour on the fish. Has it turned out how you wanted it?

So far so good, Chef. Good.

Kareem? Yes? Three minutes to the pass, Chef. Yes, Chef.

He starts building his dish with his mushroom duxelles.

His mushroom veloute is next.

Kareem, it's looking extremely green.

Yeah, that's what we want. Extremely bogey-like.

His roasted cod and deep-fried mushrooms

complete the dish.

Happy, Chef? I'm happy. Yeah?

Title of the dish - Bogeyfood, inspired by Fungus the Bogeyman.

I'm ready to try this. Ready to try? Yes. OK, simple as that.

All right. Green food it is, people.

Kareem, let's start with that cod. Happy with the cooking?

I am.

I am. Yeah?

The cooking's perfect.

Absolutely perfect for me.

And the marinade, the seaweed yoghurt,

happy with how that's turned out? Yes.

What about the yoghurt? I don't get any yoghurt.

It's not necessarily bringing anything to the... It isn't.

I'd sort of expected a punch of spice,

just from the colouring.

The sauces, happy with how that's turned out?

The colour? Yes. Very much so.

Is that the right amount of spirulina?

I don't think it's necessarily overpowering, but you feel

it and it's there, and it's an uncommon ingredient.

I think, good on him for doing a green plate of food.

Right, Kareem, what would you score that dish?

It could have had a little bit more depth of flavour,

but I'm happy with this dish. An eight.

A seven. It's an eight.

It's going to be a seven from me.

Oy. How was it? It's tough.

Marianne is next with her Pingu-inspired fish dish.

Mackerel is first into her bowls.

Two minutes to the pass, two minutes.

Then putting seaweed on.

It's just different types of seaweed?

Yeah, wakame and arame,

and there's kelp in the broth. All the good stuff. Yes.

She covers with her shiitake and kelp broth.

What's in the little bundle there, Marianne?

It's Pingu's spicy crumb.

It immediately screams Pingu to me, that.

And it's served to the call of penguins.

Are we the penguins? For a penguin.

So, this is Pingu's Sustainable Soup. Right.

Will you choose which one you'd like to take?

Enjoy, guys. Thank you.

Oh, look at that. Nice.

Are you happy with the barbecue cooking of the mackerel?

It could have had a bit more char on it.

I'm not getting as much of the barbecue note

on it as I would have liked.

It's quite large.

In that soup, yeah, no real barbecue flavour. Mm.

And you're happy that it doesn't get lost in the broth?

I like the way that mackerel kind of just sits in there,

and it's part of a bigger story.

It's such a delicious, fatty fish.

It's a bit of a shame to lose it within the broth.

Are you happy with how that broth has turned out?

Yeah, I really like it.

I love the way that it delivers a lot on flavour, but I find

it really light as well, which I really like.

The broth is delicious. The broth is lovely. Yeah.

The texture, the crisp shallots?

I find them very tasty in their own right.

So, yeah, I think I'm happy with those, Chef.

Really enjoying the croutons and the little crispy onions

and all the kind of garlicky bits that are happening in here.

If you were to score this dish, what would you give yourself?

I'll go for a nine. I'm just going to put it out there.

You've got to put it out there, haven't you? Mm.

I'm going to score it a seven. I think it's a seven.

I think seven is a fair score.

Marianne. Hello. How are you? Good, happier.

Happier, yeah?

Finally, the current leader, Thom.

Four minutes, Thom. Four minutes to the pass.

How are you feeling, Thom? All right? I feel great, Andi,

if I was honest with you. Good! Good lad. What an excellent answer.

He pan-fries his hake in brown butter.

So, this is cauliflower puree,

and they're pickled cauliflower stalks.

Nice!

His fish fillets are followed by dill and caper emulsion.

Is the fish how you wanted it, Chef? Yeah.

I'm really happy with the fish.

His monkfish cheeks are served in Great British Menu trophies,

the smoked butter and wine sauce decanted,

and the dishes are served under Korky the Cat's hat.

So, this is What's Under Korky's Hat.

I have to wear that. Put the hat on.

They're very nice hats, I'm telling you.

Shall I sauce you, madam? Thank you, darling. Yes, please.

Cooking of the hake, Thom - happy?

Yeah, I'm really happy with that.

Maybe I found it a little bit over. Just a little bit over.

Just a touch.

The sauce, the right consistency?

Is that how you wanted it?

Yeah, I think it's very powerful, but I'd like it a tiny bit thicker,

if I was really honest about it.

Tasty, too. That sauce, basically,

you could probably put it on my shoes...

Yeah. ..and I'd be going, "You know what?

"This is really quite incredible."

The monkfish cheek -

are you happy with the tenderness of that?

I think it's not quite right.

Just a tiny bit tough.

And the tempura, was it crisp enough for you?

I felt I'd maybe go a tiny bit longer.

I don't feel the texture of the tempura at all.

Thom, help me understand hake and monkfish.

I wanted to offer two different textures.

We could have had another piece of hake, or we could

have had all monkfish. It just seems a bit odd to me.

If you were to score this dish, Thom?

I think there's some mistakes there.

I think a seven would be just about justified.

I'd give it a nine.

I'd give this an eight.

I'm going to say nine as well, actually.

All right, team. How's it going? How are you doing?

Just a tiny bit frustrated.

Little silly mistakes, but there we go.

It is what it is. That sauce was absolute top tier.

That sauce was fire, man.

Overall, I think there's some really good cooking in there today.

But again, lots of things that also weren't right,

that could have been a lot better.

Which means you've got a lot to think about before you score

because one of these chefs has to go home.

I know, and it is going to be very tough.

Right, shall we go and see what Paul's scored us?

Absolutely, man. Woohoo. Let's go.

Good luck, everybody. Good luck. Good luck.

As things stand, Thom is leading the competition with eight points,

Tom Shepherd has seven,

Marianne six, and Kareem five.

So, there was some strong storytelling, some

excellent fish cookery.

And here and there, the odd misstep.

Tom, Fungus the Bogeyman's Breakfast.

The link to the brief was spot-on.

The cod was cooked to perfection.

The shaddock condiment delivered a little bit of sourness,

bitterness and sweetness.

When I tasted your sauce, I knew that I was in for a good dish.

I have to agree with you, though.

It could have been a bit thicker and reduced more.

Kareem, for your dish, Bogeyfood,

presentation was excellent.

The cod was cooked brilliantly.

For me, I think you missed a trick on not adding some spice

into that marinade to really play on that tandoor process.

The bit that I struggled with and I felt overpowered

everything was the use of spirulina.

Don't get lost in the concept and always, always keep flavour

at the forefront.

Marianne, for your dish,

Pingu's Sustainable Soup,

I like the thought which had gone into the presentation.

It's cooking I love and it was full of flavour.

I think you could improve this dish by using a shallower bowl

and let us pour the broth in.

I like the way that those crisp shallots gave the dish a nice

little bit of bitterness.

And the way that you unwrap it from

Pingu's little bindle - inspired.

Thom, for your dish,

What's Under Korky's Hat? -

the link to the brief is brilliant.

To use a fish like hake was great to see,

and you cooked it very well.

I felt, though, that your sauce lacked a bit of body.

The bit that let this dish down,

Thom, was that monkfish tempura.

The tempura wasn't crispy enough.

The monkfish cheeks were rubbery.

The bit that I'm struggling with is either

take all of the hake, or take the monkfish and use the head

and the tail.

And so to the scores.

Tom Shepherd...

..I'm giving you...

..a nine.

Well done. Cheers, Chef.

This dish might be a little too restauranty.

I would try to think how you can deepen your connection

to the brief. Marianne...

..I'm scoring you...

..a seven. Components of this dish are fantastic,

but the composition needs work.

Thom Bateman...

..I'm scoring you...

..a seven.

Again, perhaps look at the way that you plate

this dish. Until that sauce goes on,

it did look a little anaemic.

Kareem...

..I'm scoring you...

..a seven.

Kareem, that means by just one point

that sadly you are going to be leaving us.

We really, really hope that you'll come back again

because you're just brilliant. Thank you, guys.

For the rest of you, I would get some rest because tomorrow

it's mains and desserts.

You're really going to need that sleep.

Commiserations, Kareem. No worries, man.

You've done yourself proud.

Thank you, guys. No worries, man. Thank you. Respect, my man.

I feel a bit disappointed, but at the same time I'm taking

this in stride. And believe me, I'm a fighter.

Paul's feedback has really fired me up.

I've got a lot to do to keep up with the other two chefs.

Just about the right call. I think it's fair.

Tom's dish was incredible, so he fully deserved his nine.

Main course is next. And I just need to ensure that I have

that same focus, same desire,

and I just want that big, fat, juicy ten.

There's a solid bunch of chefs in there, man.

I would love to see all of them win but, much like Highlander,

there can be only one.

Tomorrow, the chefs ramp up their ambition

with mains and desserts.

Now it's party time. But is it a step too far?

I've come this far. There's no going back.

You are the inventor of your chaos. Yes.

We'll see who pulls it off and goes through to cook for the judges.

I have just tasted a banquet-worthy dish.