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00:09I started cooking 20 years ago when Great British Menus started, so I've followed Great British
00:15Menus through my entire career. To be able to add my name to the roster of people that have
00:21competed like Tom Kerridge, Paul Ainsworth, Angela Hartnett and Act Our Islam is such an honor and
00:27I'm just so proud to be a part of that group. It's very surreal to be here now. Being at
00:34the banquet is a huge career highlight for me. It's something that I've worked really really
00:38hard towards. Can't quite believe it but it's becoming more real as I'm here.
00:4420 years of Great British Menus followed it since I was a kid from South Africa. So proud
00:49and so excited to be here. It's one of my lifelong dreams. Today I want to just enjoy myself,
00:54take it all in and make everyone proud.
01:13This is the 20th Great British Menus Banquet. Let the historic culinary battle commence.
01:40Well, looky here.
01:44Chefs, welcome to Blenheim Palace. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful houses in the world.
01:5132 chefs wanted to stand where you're standing and you were the three that made it through. So huge congratulations.
01:57How are you feeling about it, John? Excited. It's a fun part now. Definitely going to be fun. I am
02:01so excited to be here.
02:03Yes. Finals week was particularly intense. There was another added element for me as well. I'm lucky enough to be
02:09pregnant.
02:11Congratulations. Thank you so much. How wonderful. Did you know this already, Sally? I might have done, yes.
02:16Sally knew this already. I was in confidence.
02:18Would you like to see the inside of this incredible house? I'd love to. Congratulations, Amber. Thank you.
02:26Glenheim Palace was built in the early 1700s and is now a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
02:33It's the seat of the Duke of Marlborough and famously the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
02:41Feast your eyes. Oh, wow. On this magnificent space. This is the long library. It's amazing.
02:52This whole room is steeped in history. During World War I, wounded soldiers were taken care of in this room.
02:59World War II, Winston Churchill used this as a base for MI5 operations.
03:05It's phenomenal. It's just incredible. It's going to get anything better than that.
03:07Ninety guests will be gathering here for the drinks reception and for the canapé,
03:12which of course Mark is going to be delivering while you're busy, busy, busy preparing your courses.
03:20Blenheim Palace is one of the largest stately homes in Great Britain with 187 rooms.
03:28Our chefs are interested in one room in particular. This is your kitchen.
03:35OK, great. And you've got loads of space. I mean, seriously, sometimes it's been a corridor.
03:42So practically, and obviously health and safety, you'll have to have your barbecues outside in the courtyard.
03:48Oh, yeah.
03:49I've got a massive workload to get through, so today's, like, really vital to try and
03:53prep each dish to the introvert's life.
03:54You're serving a lot of people at the same time. The most important thing is to be organised.
03:59It's going to be OK.
04:01There's lots of space. We're going to be able to get lots done and work really closely together,
04:05which is going to be great.
04:07The chefs have just over 24 hours to pull this together. I'm expecting hustle.
04:12I'm expecting bustle, but hopefully there won't be too many dramas.
04:17Three, two, one.
04:19How many goats have you got in here?
04:22OK.
04:25There we go.
04:25Right, we're in.
04:26All right. Let's have a good one.
04:27Great.
04:28Amazing.
04:28Good work.
04:29Let's do it.
04:30And they're off.
04:33Now we're kicking.
04:34With two back-to-back courses, Jean has a mountain of prep to do.
04:38Fish is good. It's still got all the scales and stuff, unfortunately,
04:41so it's just going to add another job to the list.
04:43He also needs to get cracking on his West African-inspired mane.
04:47Oh, I mean, it's quite a long list, I think, for roughly 29 jobs. But yeah,
04:51we'll get through it.
04:51He starts by blitzing nine kilograms of button mushrooms.
04:55Baking the mushroom sauce to go with the goat takes quite a lot of reduction.
04:59Want to get that on first thing. One stress out the way.
05:02For Sally's starter, she's prepping 60 white onions for the onion consomme.
05:08You're supposed to whistle, and that stops you from crying.
05:12They're going to go and steam in the oven for three hours,
05:14and then I'm going to roast them on the barbecue.
05:17Not once here, no, not yet, not yet. The day is still young.
05:23Amber from the south-west of England is cooking dessert.
05:26So job number one is toaster of the hay, ready for the infusion.
05:31For the set creams. This is from Somerset. So not too far from where I grew up.
05:36Hey, hey, hey.
05:38So this is the double cream for my set cream.
05:41While that infuses, she starts the parfait.
05:44So this is some amazing West Country double cream.
05:48Somerset honey, perfect for the ice cream sandwiches.
05:51We're just going to blend this into a paste, and that'll be the base for the stew.
05:56Drink that, mate. Make you strong.
05:59Sable, parfait, and the set cream. We're getting there.
06:03We're just going to start peeling some grapes.
06:05How many grapes are you doing, John?
06:06Five grapes per person.
06:08Times 90.
06:0990. I feel like I'm working so slow. I'm behind.
06:12Joining the three finalists is Scotland's winner and the highest scoring runner-up from finals,
06:18Mark, who will cook the canapé.
06:20Hello, hello.
06:21Hi.
06:22Hi.
06:22How are we?
06:23How are you?
06:23How are you, OK?
06:24Yeah, good, thank you. How are you?
06:25I'll see you again.
06:26Hi, big man.
06:27Oh, that's very formal.
06:29Anyone need a pair of moderately useful hands?
06:32Yeah, John, definitely.
06:34While the chefs crack on, I'm meeting Lady Henrietta Spencer Churchill.
06:39Tell me about this incredible house. So it was a gift from Queen Anne and a grateful nation
06:45for my great ancestor, John Churchill, who became the first Duke of Marlborough,
06:49for his successes in the wars against the French. The foundation stone was laid in 1705,
06:56took about 25 years to build. Wow. So then we leap maybe around 150 years.
07:02This is where Sir Winston Churchill was born. His parents, Randolph and Jenny,
07:06were staying here for a weekend party with the ninth Duke, who was my great-grandfather.
07:10There are two stories. One was the sort of rumbling of the carriage on the cobblestones,
07:15brought the berth on early. Another story is that she was dancing very rigorously in the
07:20long library. If either of those are true, who knows? Thank you so much for talking to us.
07:25And it's so beautiful here, and we're really excited about this banquet.
07:29You're coming, are you soon? I am. I'm so excited too.
07:31Back in the kitchen, there's an issue.
07:33I keep resetting it. At the moment, gas isn't working, so yeah,
07:37we can't really cook anything. Meanwhile, Sally must get her maths right for 90.
07:42I don't eat kilos, so what's that? As she makes a spread that could divide the room.
07:49Yeast extract butter. Have you got many dietries? 19. Veggies, or...? Yeah.
07:56Is that because of gelatin? Yeah. My mum's vegetarian, but she eats gelatin.
08:01And pork scratchings. In her three attempts to get to the banquet, Sally's always had her mum and
08:08dad's support, and she hand-delivered their invite back home in Mansfield.
08:13You deserve it. Thank you. You deserve it. Thank you.
08:16Now, can you go, I say it again.
08:21Hey, Sally. Hi.
08:23You're in the zone. I am indeed.
08:25And is the bread happening today or tomorrow? Tomorrow.
08:27You've got a fresh bread. Yeah, absolutely. Consomme.
08:29The onions are steaming now, so I'm going to get that cooked today,
08:32and then I'm going to let it clarify gently overnight.
08:35So your mum and dad are coming? They are, yeah.
08:36This is going to be the most magnificent banquet yet, isn't it? It is indeed.
08:42The resident executive chef of Blenheim has sorted the gas problem.
08:46But all on now. Nearly 15 litres of red wine, Madeira,
08:52and port go into Jean's mushroom sauce. Enough booze.
08:56And he's also making the Van Jean sauce for the fish.
09:00I'm just going to add the butter to the fish sauce so it's finished as much as possible.
09:05How much goat have you got to prepare? You've got 90 people.
09:08Yeah, so we've got four whole goats in. What, are there 29, 30 elements?
09:12Oh, I lose count. And then, of course, you've got your fish calls and the timings on that.
09:17It's so quick, like, between really good and then really bad.
09:20It's oversold, isn't it? Yeah, so we've got 15 whole souls to cook.
09:23That's proper banquet, isn't it? That is, isn't it?
09:25Like everyone, a bit of a mammoth task. Got about 300 canopies to make.
09:29So what's on the menu, Mark?
09:30Like Jerusalem artichoke tuile kind of thing. A little sandwich in the shape of a thistle,
09:34because I'm Scottish. Ah!
09:37Filled with venison liver parfait, rolling berry jelly, some foraged herbs, and some chive flowers.
09:42So it should look like a thistle.
09:44Hey, darling. Hello.
09:45You, chef? Feeling good? Yes, now everything's on the go.
09:48Talk to me about the trickiness of this dish.
09:51There are lots of layers. Parfait, freezing it, cutting it, sandwiching it,
09:55and the sable, set cream on the go. We've got honeycomb, we've also got the strawberry gel.
10:00And are you doing all that today?
10:02Well, you know, I set my sights high. And then just tempering chocolate tomorrow.
10:06I mean, just for 90 people.
10:13That just takes out any bubbles on the surface, but it also just evens out the texture on the top.
10:18These will set overnight, and hopefully I won't have too many nightmares about set creams not setting.
10:26That was terrifying.
10:28Amber's first batch of parfait has set.
10:30A little bit fragile, just making sure that it doesn't tear.
10:35Meanwhile, Mark's still wading through thistle-shaped tuiles.
10:40340-odd done, 260 to go.
10:45He's also made a venison parfait.
10:48Only got one mouthful to win people over, so just want to make sure it's really good.
10:53This is a kwabi stew, so we just finished stewing off the meat.
10:56We're slow cooking now for the rest of the day, and then ready for tomorrow.
10:59And the mushroom sauce now has all its ingredients.
11:02This is the mushroom stuff going in.
11:04Then we're going to let that cook for the rest of the eternity.
11:07We like to have a lot more jobs ticked off.
11:09Just toast in the rice quickly before we steam it.
11:12It's smoky rice.
11:15Smelling good.
11:16Spice.
11:18Woo!
11:19Can I get a glass of milk?
11:22After three hours of steaming, the onions are barbecued to intensify the flavour.
11:27I'm just grilling the onions for the onion broth, so we're going to get a really nice colour on them.
11:32I feel like a hot dog bender. Would you like some onions with that? Mustard?
11:36I think this little duck can smell the onions.
11:38The duck's like, go on, drop some.
11:43Beautiful.
11:47Sally's transferred her onions to a large stockpot and adds sherry.
11:51Basically reducing the alcohol by three quarters, and then I'm going to put the stock in.
11:55I'll cook it out for about an hour.
11:58Can I give you a hand, my friend?
12:00Please. We've got to make lots of potato fondant.
12:02OK. Yep.
12:04No problem.
12:05I like cutting things to the same size.
12:09Amber's making charcoal sablé biscuits to represent writer, teacher and school's founder,
12:15Hannah Moore, who inspired both her dish and Amber's career move from fine dining to food
12:21educator and school chef.
12:23So these are giant kumquats. Does anyone remember it now? I've said the name.
12:27Yeah.
12:27Yeah?
12:29You're winning.
12:30I wouldn't call it winning yet, chef. It's been a tough workout today.
12:34Mark's on his way outside to pick bay leaves.
12:37How much do you need?
12:38I need like 132 branches.
12:41Just bring the whole tree in.
12:42Yeah, no worries. Cool.
12:43Thanks, Mark. Love you.
12:51Hi, Mark.
12:52Is that Harrison?
12:52Yeah, that's it. Welcome to the kitchen garden.
12:54I only need a measly eight bay leaves, but chef Jean needs significantly more.
12:58So this must be a real chef's dream in the summer.
13:01Absolutely.
13:02We're growing on about a two-acre site here and trying our best to meet about 80%
13:06of the kitchen's vegetable needs.
13:10Cheers, Harrison.
13:10Bye.
13:11Hi.
13:12How are you doing?
13:13You found the tree?
13:14Yeah.
13:15This is the maitake mushroom, so it's the vegetarian alternative on our main course.
13:20Jean blends a tarragon and vermouth butter for his fish-caused potatoes.
13:25How are you doing for the last hour, chef?
13:27Pushing now, trying to get as many of the jobs done, so we don't have to stress tomorrow.
13:30Yeah.
13:31Amber's multitasking, making a strawberry gel as well as her honey parfait.
13:36How far are you with your little heads?
13:37Slow progress.
13:38Yeah, and have an off cut.
13:39Yeah, definitely.
13:40Starving.
13:42Oh, man, so nice.
13:44I think it's better than last time.
13:45Woo!
13:48I just need to season up this parfait.
13:51I've got some butter to blend through it just to smear that out.
13:53I mean, this is ridiculous.
13:56Do you want a bigger stick blender, mate?
14:01Sally's consomme is done and ready to pass, which she will do overnight through muslin to clarify.
14:08Thanks, Johan.
14:10Amber is passing her strawberry gel.
14:1220 minutes left before we need to be out of the kitchen.
14:15Mark is doing some last-minute frying of his thistles.
14:1810 minutes left.
14:19A little bit under the cosh.
14:20Done.
14:20You're a star.
14:22Thank you very much.
14:24Should we go through them and see if they're all the same now?
14:27That was a long, hard prep day today.
14:31Big day tomorrow.
14:32All the donkey works out the way, so...
14:33The donkey works out the way.
14:34Doing 90 portions of something this complex by yourself is quite a task.
14:42Tonight, I'll be dreaming about loads of goats and loads of Dover souls all over the fire.
14:45Last one, I'll turn the lights off.
14:59Representing London Southeast at the 20th year, it's more than I could have dreamed of, really.
15:03Champions of Champions is my ultimate goal.
15:08It means the absolute world to be representing the Southwest.
15:11To win Champion of Champions today would be incredible. Ridiculous.
15:18I really want to do the Central Region proud, so I'm just going to go and give it my all.
15:24My wife's coming to eat, so she's my biggest critic always.
15:27So to try and keep her happy is going to be a challenge.
15:29I think I'm probably most worried about feeding my mum.
15:35It's Banquet Day. Who will triumph and enter the Culinary Hall of Fame?
15:45I'm going to go into the microwave.
15:51Time for Sally to find out if her onion consomme has clarified.
15:57Looks perfect. Completely clear, really nice flavour, lovely colour, very happy.
16:02Jean's making a parsley and thyme herb crust.
16:06Go on top of the roasted goat loins when they're done.
16:11What's happened?
16:12This smells like it's going to explode. Great!
16:14I swear I didn't sabotage it yesterday.
16:18Erm, right. Sorry.
16:21Let's find a new technique.
16:22She decides to use the Thermomix to temper her chocolate, but it can only take small amounts.
16:29The other way to do it will be in a bain-marie, but we've got gas stoves here.
16:34The flames can go up the sides, causing the chocolate on the outside to burn.
16:38And with white chocolate, that's really, really fragile and temperamental.
16:43This is the bread.
16:45I'm doing it in five batches, because when you start to scale a recipe up,
16:48it sometimes doesn't work quite the same.
16:50I'm just going to do what I know, and then it will all be okay.
16:56I'm going to set myself up. It's going to be chaos.
17:00So these are vegetarian set creams.
17:04So these are the baked celeriacs, so we've charred them on the fire,
17:07and then we've wrapped them in a salt crust, and we're going to bake that off until they're nice and
17:10soft,
17:10and that'll be the veggie alternative for the fish course.
17:13Watch your backs, that's some hot milk coming through.
17:16Behind.
17:19Almost there.
17:20I've got probably, like, 50 more.
17:23They look like little pineapples.
17:25That has occurred to me.
17:31Just hope they bake okay.
17:34Right, who needs what?
17:35I need you all day, man.
17:37You're going to have to fight the others.
17:39What can I do?
17:40I'm going to start skewering.
17:41Yeah, if you don't mind.
17:42So it's seven slices.
17:44We've got three down, 107 to go.
17:51I am re-tempering this chocolate, because it's got a little bit too hot.
17:56Joys are working with new techniques, but
17:58we're getting there.
18:00How's everything going, darling?
18:01So far, so good, yeah.
18:02It's like three hours till the first kiss.
18:05Three hours?
18:05Yes.
18:06Okay.
18:06Just got all the bread proving now, so that's going to be a big job getting all of that rolled.
18:09Yeah, your consomme is clarified.
18:12Yeah, consomme is beautiful and clear and lovely.
18:13And then I need to prep all my onions, make my mash.
18:18I actually think it's better than the first time I made it, so...
18:20Hallelujah!
18:22That's delicious.
18:24Our judges, Ed Gamble, Tom Kerridge and Lorna McNee are arriving.
18:29They're expecting a banquet to surpass all others for this anniversary year,
18:35as the preparation ramps up.
18:37Oh, ****!
18:40Put yourself.
18:41What's happened?
18:42Yeah.
18:43Oh, man, that's nasty, that.
18:45Erm...
18:46Oh, no.
18:48You stabbed yourself.
18:49Mandolin.
18:49Mandolin.
18:50Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
18:52Delivering two courses just got even harder.
18:55Do it with Florence Nightingale.
18:56Isn't this coming later?
18:58Boo!
19:00Sorry, I am sympathetic, really.
19:03Yeah, sure, man.
19:05But also, could you get off my section?
19:16I'm making them mash.
19:17If you bake the potatoes rather than boil the potatoes,
19:20you don't add any water,
19:22and water is what makes mash go gluey.
19:25Ooh!
19:26Hot.
19:30Halalalalalalalala!
19:32Yep, this is all looking good.
19:34I've done all this myself on this table.
19:37Who am I sat next to?
19:38I'm there.
19:39Matt Tebbitt here, Michael O'Hare there, that's good.
19:42I don't know why that's called Dame Denise's table,
19:45because it's actually Ed Gamble's table.
19:48We'll get that changed.
19:51Are there any tables that are giving you a bit of the fear, Sean?
19:55I saw there's a table just full of amazing chefs.
19:58Yeah, I think there must be about, what,
19:59like almost 10 stars on the table or something.
20:01So that's a bit daunting.
20:04Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve.
20:08I thought that was going to be enough for 91 loaves of bread,
20:11but I actually need to make one more recipe.
20:13So I'm just going to get these proven and get that straight on.
20:18Hello, Amber.
20:19Everything going well?
20:20Yeah, we're getting there, we're getting there.
20:22And the tempering going okay on your chocolate and you're happy?
20:24Yes, obviously just very, very fragile, so trying to keep it as cool and calm over here as I can.
20:30Yeah, hopefully I keep that adrenaline up and keep going and I'm sure it'll be great.
20:33Absolutely.
20:41Oh, hello.
20:43Don't let anyone tell you I'm not strong.
20:46Although I'm not that strong.
20:49John's using paper with quotes from his inspiration, Elizabeth David, for the potatoes for his fish.
20:57They're 18.
20:58One eight, not eight zero, sadly.
21:01They are super fragile.
21:03And Mark is still wrestling with this tub of butter.
21:08How are we doing, John?
21:09All right?
21:09How are we last time?
21:10We good?
21:10Nice to see you.
21:11Nice to see you.
21:12How's the goat curry looking?
21:13Yeah, it's even better than last time, I think.
21:15Really?
21:15Yeah.
21:15You're completely under control?
21:17Yeah.
21:17And obviously you're going to bring in Mark to help you, I'm sure.
21:20Yeah, Mark's been briefed.
21:21Oh, I'm terrified.
21:24OK, done, done with the onions.
21:27Woo!
21:28Woo!
21:28Woo!
21:28Woo!
21:33Our modern-day British heroes are arriving.
21:38With Lady Doreen Lawrence, who set up the Stephen Lawrence Trust, and her granddaughter Mia.
21:46The president of UK Athletics, Dame Denise Lewis, has come with one of her unsung heroes,
21:53athletics coach Andy Paul.
21:57Just going to add the spice mix now into the goat stew.
22:01I think tensions are rising now, aren't they?
22:05Yeah.
22:05Yeah.
22:06Yeah.
22:07Yeah.
22:11Coming across the Great Court are Sara Robotham MBE, who uncovered the Rochdale grooming gang,
22:17midwife of the year Waheeda Abbas, and Lisa Potts-Webb, who has awarded the George Medal for
22:23bravery for protecting children.
22:25these are the vegetarian parfaits soft it just goes to show how much of an impact that little
22:32bit of gelatin in the recipe makes oh oh god the jelly mark begins building his canapé this is
22:41going to take a while our guest judge from his scottish heat is here national lifeboat volunteer
22:51and firefighter ben thompson the horse is really really special i was not expecting it and the
22:58horses behave themselves magical if it was snowing and made even better they can't do snow i know you
23:07guest judge and campaigner for women's safety mina smallman is here along with those who fought for
23:14justice in the post office scandal i've watched the program so many times and to be just a small
23:21part of it and be here in such a beautiful place it's fantastic not a little treat it's
23:27a big treat yeah because i've never been to anything like this before
23:32blennin's estate vehicle is bringing more guests first out is abdullah tonoli
23:37he saved a young girl and her mother from a knife attacker last year
23:43whilst our southwest judge professor tracy daskovich led the response to the salisbury
23:49novichok poisonings and tarik jahan's impassioned speech after his son was killed stopped the birmingham
23:56riots i've been to many stately homes but this one literally takes the biscuit this is the best
24:03well it's stunning i have never thought that i'm gonna be here and the views and atmosphere amazing
24:12do you want a push mark if you sprinkle chive flowers on the top oh very nice like that i'd
24:20love that
24:22the thistle biscuits have been dusted with douglas fur powder
24:29this is the liver parfait
24:36and we've invited them to the banquet but our veterans were at the bottom of the pecking order
24:41when it came to a lift
24:50oh my god my hands cramping yeah i just need to see my bread's ready to go in the oven
24:57it could go in sal but i'm not sure if it could do with another 10 minutes okay
25:03kate bedding from the british red cross is arriving with long-serving nurses diane gill and and
25:09adrena mir karnes who was recently nominated for nurse of the year as well as the chef's families
25:15and friends who have supported them every step of the way also here is the award-winning composer
25:22daniel pemberton who wrote the great british menu theme tune love a venue with a good organ
25:28it was just like write some music for this this cooking show like pianos double bass a little bit
25:33of strings it's got some cooking bowls i mean there's no way i ever thought this would last 20 years
25:38it's been amazing great british menu has been influencing british hospitality for the last 20
25:46years the guys they've got um on the show i mean they're best of british aren't they so i'm expecting
25:52quite a lot entering the portico is welsh singer songwriter and broadcaster keris matthews mve
26:08our last carriage is drawing in with hillsborough family support group chair margaret aspinall
26:15and the chaplain for liverpool fc bill by gross
26:24i think at this moment mark will be very very nervous
26:31i'm sure mark's absolutely smashing it i hope he's not too nervous um but yeah he's gonna be amazing
26:38yeah i'm pretty happy with these i think they're looking good okay saris please thank you very much
26:49thank you thank you thank you guys
26:58thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you
27:06a bit of sweetness a bit of saltiness and crispiness of course everything is exploding in your mouth
27:12it's beautiful mark was on the show that i was there for as a guest judge his food was absolutely
27:19fantastic on the day and there we go again the canopies can't fault it canapé was beautiful so
27:27smooth the crunch of the biscuit and then into the the center it was just absolutely divine it was
27:33great it's great it's like a little fish all scottish little napkin it looks fantastic it feels crispy
27:38crunchy i mean that's a great first impression isn't it really good just going back to get the last of
27:44the canopies
27:59it was a little explosion of flavors inside your mouth it felt very scottish to me
28:05because it made me think about being up in the highlands so good to see you again darling
28:13that's four i've had now i'm gonna hit ten before we go into the banquet
28:19yeah that's really tasty it was delicious it really was i was very surprised at
28:25how delicate it was but you know full of flavor
28:37in the kitchen it's full steam ahead with the vegan blue cheese mash for sally's starter
28:48right sally this is the last batch of bread going in now
28:52welcome everybody to blenheim palace and the great british menu's 20th birthday
28:59and i invite all of you to follow me as we move to the orangery
29:07okay chef i'm all yours you're all mine it's a dangerous thing to say we're gonna start cooking
29:12fish now yeah we're gonna chuck them on we're gonna get them on nice and what the whole idea is
29:16we're
29:16gonna cook it with loads of smoke so i want it bellowing out the whole time yeah as it's cooking
29:20we're gonna baste it with the black koji butter
29:25service for the starter course is now just minutes away
29:32i'm really looking forward to tasting sally's dish again uh it was a standout course for me
29:36across the week when i judged it there's some pretty big time chefs on this table hopefully they enjoy it
29:41as
29:41well
29:43i think sally will be head down focused concentrating hard on the work i need mark now please
29:53how we doing guys yeah everything on top i think is cooked i'm gonna have to leave you in a
29:58sec
30:00amber's brushing the brioche with yeast extract
30:03can you pipe these mark just fill them yeah
30:06mark's now helping with the vegan mash as the first bowls are prepared with onion powder
30:13onion pearls and pickled shallots and then just some truffle yeah yes mate yeah hello yo yo yo blood
30:20in palace okay so we have the exceptional keris matthews mbe who is going to read a poem that should
30:27resonate with many of you here let's hear it for keris matthews
30:36the road not taken by robert frost two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry i could not
30:45travel both and be one traveler i looked down one as far as i could to where it bent in
30:52the undergross
30:53then took the other oh i kept the first for another day yet knowing how way leads on to way
31:01i doubted
31:02if i should ever come back
31:06i shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence two roads diverged in a wood
31:16and i i took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference
31:31oh we've got waiting stuff here oh here we go here we go here we go oh look we've got
31:34florence
31:35oh hey flo it's gonna go like that in front of the guest yeah and then i need one person
31:39to take
31:39the soup please perfect right go thank you ever so much we are starting off and put my glasses on
31:47with nursed back to health created by the brilliant sally abbe and it's inspired by florence
31:54nightingale please put your hands together for the nurses here tonight thank you very much for all you do
32:08thank you so much cheers thank you
32:16the flavor and the continent yeah please don't disturb me because i'm i'm literally in heaven now
32:24this is so good
32:25i was delicious never tasted anything like that before and florence nightingale is a particular
32:37hero of mine
32:42and i really love the butter but i've never had putty like that so i need the recipe
32:50that brioche is amazing the butter though denise and i and going on dragon's den we want to put the
32:55butter on the market that is unreal
33:01i absolutely love the starter and i'm not trying to pretend i know anything about food but the flavors were
33:07uh possibly would be beautiful sadly how many on the next one uh we are nine again
33:14now we're cooking on gas right okay so service please
33:20thank you florence thank you florence thank you florence thank you florence
33:36it smells beautiful this will be the most spectacular broth ever
33:45i confirm i am still a lover of the yeast extract with the butter it was delicious and really lovely
33:51to
33:51see the red cross plates as well i love the bread do you i like the bread it did feel
33:56therapeutic i would
33:58say that is an unbelievable feat to knock out brioche which is using so much butter naturally
34:05and then do a vegan version of it and not even notice the difference i think it's a phenomenal
34:10achievement right go go let's go florence let's go florence
34:16one more table left to go ladies and gentlemen
34:18right service here please pick up the last table let's go thank you
34:28it's been a pleasure working with you thank you very much thank you allow me at all
34:40mashed potato inside an onion who was expecting that it was delicious
34:46i thought the onion would be really strong but it wasn't it was really gentle
34:50and i really loved the vegan mash it was beautiful
34:56it was to die for and that's if i was poorly that would be the best thing to make me
35:02better that
35:02soup it was delicious i think she really excelled herself this time and uh i'm very proud of what
35:08she's done yes it's absolutely beautiful well done thank you guys thank you guys good hustle good hustle
35:14i was really happy with how that went i think it looked really nice i'd like to think i've got
35:18a good
35:18chance of winning the champion of champions one in four is a good odds it's a great start a difficult
35:24one to follow so good luck john
35:28yeah they're going to get in there can john become only the second chef ever to deliver both fish
35:34and main courses at our banquet we're in a very good place we just need to start serving the next
35:41course
35:41is a whole dover soul comes whole to the table when was the last time that you fill it at
35:47the dover
35:48soul there's a strong argument for 1998 okay yeah good you're going to do one of the tables and so
35:53is
35:53everyone here okay yes chef yes chef john's wife anya is used to being on the other side of service
36:03as she does front of house at their michelin-styled restaurant in sussex
36:07i didn't think that i would be this nervous normally i get to see the whole process so
36:15i'm actually really stressed but i i know that it'll be fine all right fish o'clock
36:22the assembly is starting with the courgettes followed by chervil and parsley emulsion happy with
36:28quantities there john yeah five peeled grapes and a herb garnish complete the vintage plates and the
36:36van john sauce is decanted fish on top john the potatoes with tarragon vermouth butter are served
36:45in their paper cooking bags okay everyone ready let's go okay service please okay service please come
36:54fish let's go so now it's time for the fish course created by jean del por our winner from london
37:02and the
37:02southeast celebrating the british cookery writer who helped revitalize home cookery in britain in the
37:08mid-20th century this is an ode to elizabeth david
37:22all right let's do this sir it is beautifully cooked
37:29coming up ready yeah crispy skin thank you all right
37:39we're now going two veg seven fish these are two veg like the fish the celeriac vegetarian option
37:46has been basted with burnt black koji butter right john i'm going to start sending yeah okay we got
37:52sauce come in they're hot be careful two veggie thanks so next eight one veggie do you want to run
38:04fish land style chefs are helping okay here we go
38:13absolutely gorgeous gorgeous it was really flavorsome it was beautifully cooked and the sauce was
38:23magnificent yeah it could really taste the barbecue flavor coming through it's delicious
38:32can we get fish please thank you mate we've got two tables left after this no five five tables
38:40where's all the potatoes one two three four over here i didn't cook from there yeah
38:47with so many jobs something had to give john's forgotten to cook the last trays of his potatoes on papillote
38:54and we have to go one potato food table now please yep nurses and health heroes table four and again
39:02service please
39:06would you like to pass your plate
39:08it was moist it was perfectly cooked honestly i've never had anything so beautiful before
39:17beautiful work look at that look at that i actually love the fish really flavorsome and just that barbecue
39:25that ran through it it was absolutely delicious the sauce was fantastic a really really memorable dish
39:33potatoes it was amazing if i have to eat one food for my whole life i'm gonna say the fish
39:41you know
39:42elizabeth david's one of my favorite cookery writers and yes that was a fitting tribute rich deep flavors and i
39:48mean the soul just fell off the bone okay guys there's our family and friends no pressure
39:56we are eight now all fish
39:59grab sauce yeah okay service please last one dbm veterans
40:06thank you so much let's finish table ten that's the easy one uh yeah
40:21all right
40:22fish was cut beautifully and the sauce was just world-class amazing really really nice
40:32so much kind of smoky flavors coming through from that barbecue the potatoes are amazing i love
40:37i love seeing people eat and then did you like the interaction at getting the chefs i hated every
40:41moment i hated that too yeah but i didn't come here to compete
40:46in terms of champions and champions for that dish i think it's got a strong chance
40:49loads of flavor really simple but really complicated at the same time just had to cook loads of fish on
40:53the bone so a challenge in itself because they were all cooked perfectly and now he's got that amazing
40:58curried goat yeah so next dish is the hard one so now really got to push up get timing on
41:02and then we got to go i mean you know if it's a starter in a main course fair enough
41:06but going from fish
41:07directly into a main course crazy amazing john sourced the african burr goat for his main course
41:16from a farm local to his restaurant in sussex two relish per table two relish per table two stews per
41:22table then the plain ones are for the peanuts satay i think broccoli and then these ones are for the
41:28okra
41:28yeah and then i'll do meat and then the maitak is and then it's just the rice the plate is
41:33the potatoes
41:33yeah dusted and then the sorrel emulsion which this is a lot mark is on hob duty frying both the
41:41okra
41:42and the rice which is topped with mushroom bernays seven first wait whilst amber's doing the goat stew
41:50and the broccoli broccoli on top peanuts on top of that yes please that's got the loss that's
41:56everything i've got your main course is inspired by west africa and charles ignatius sancho who was
42:06born into slavery and became the very first black man to vote in this country
42:12and with us today is patterson joseph he is the author of the secret diaries of charles ignatius
42:19sancho and it's also an incredible play sancho and me
42:25are you ready on go down there john uh yes it's coming out is it appropriate to come up and
42:30ask if
42:30you're happy with the cuisson on that chef yeah i think it's pretty good what do you think it's bang
42:34on
42:34yeah and sancho has also been chosen as the inspiration for a poem by former scottish laureate
42:41jackie kaye this is miraculous alchemy when it was illegal to teach you to read you published letters
42:50in the papers miraculous alchemy and the strange thing to hold as a victory you were the first black
42:59man to have a published obituary you led the way met the king played music to handle as a child
43:08miraculous alchemy you were published posthumously how you faced adversity the letters of the late
43:17ignatius sancho your legacy you felt like a lodger in grand britannia you were insulted put down you
43:28fought for the abolition of slavery and yet you were lonely there was no one quite like you miraculous
43:39alchemy but now read the room ignatius sancho here's people who followed your inspiration through history
43:52your destiny our democracy your responsibility our liberty miraculous miraculous alchemy
44:08paterson joseph is introducing the course this is the tale of an african child born on a slave ship
44:18crossing the atlantic on the coast of guinea in 1729
44:24thank you very much oh and you look what it's on look this is his voyage from west africa to
44:33england
44:38am i allowed to dig in yeah goat stew honey pass the goat stew around
44:45right are you good on six goats there my friend yeah slicing sean hasn't realized but he's forgotten
44:51the herb crust and the goat is being served without it broccoli okay service please okay we're going table
45:00five community leaders hot okay so now we're going five and three and then it's six and two
45:07and behind wait that's very hot now oh
45:16take one pass it around yeah
45:24it was just like full of flavor just on the absolute limit of spice that it makes it really naughty
45:32you know you just keep going back for more i love it make everyone's heads pop off it's great
45:41it was something that was very hot i'm not quite sure what it was and i'm not necessarily used to
45:46spicy food but it was really good it's rushing it extraordinary concoction of different flavors and
45:54elements and and herbs and spices and the meat was beautiful and tender okay so we're going eight now
46:00six main two veggies the vegetarian option is roasted maitake mushroom then we're halfway there boys and girls
46:13everyone okay yeah i'll give me
46:18okay service please
46:24amongst our modern day heroes is a cave diver who rescued the trapped thai football team
46:31main course was quite spicy it was it was it was very nice the goat was especially very nice
46:39i have to say i found the main course far too spicy for me i couldn't taste anything but spice
46:45honestly
46:46the peanut sauce on the broccoli was lovely the rice was just delicious what a combination of flavors
46:56i had the mushroom and i loved the little touches of okra and the broccoli and the rice was really
47:02that little part of rice was like a little jewel
47:07there was quite a lot going on there but every single thing had its place and worked from the relish
47:13to
47:13the okra
47:16absolutely gorgeous my favorite bit actually was the goat oh just so tasty and succulent okay the next table
47:24seven normal two vegetarian yeah one of which is my mommy so make it nice please
47:31and then we are done yeah everyone except amber's
47:36okay last table chef's family thank you very much okay one more service here please thank you so much guys
47:44well done thank you thank you so much thank you appreciate that well done mate it's beautiful
47:58the thing about sancho is he loved his food this would have suited him down to the ground and i
48:05loved it
48:07that was my favorite course such complexity in the flavor and the spicing that i haven't had anything
48:13like that before blew my mind it was actually so so good i'm immensely proud but i'm actually not shocked
48:19because it never ceases to amaze really yeah so cooking two courses is quite tough really proud that
48:25the whole thing came together it's exactly how i wanted it so i got two chances getting champions
48:29champions i mean i would love it the spotlight is now on amber for the final course and too late
48:37john's found the herb crust so yeah i've just got my crumb that was for the god rack so see
48:43lots to
48:44think about when you're in this kitchen so something small can slip by quickly so we can just stack the
48:50desks here and the book should be inside already mark is piping strawberry gel onto the set cream 12 varying
48:57size dots just cover the top nicely and jean is following with fermented strawberries the more
49:04the merrier but okay i don't really want to risk us running low and then sally with the honeycomb
49:09mark me and you are going to run service whilst the guys are just continuing to plate so proud
49:15particularly as a chef that works for schools and with charities it just that's i'm very proud that she's
49:20able to live that kind of social conscience amber will be cool as a cucumber she knows what she's doing
49:26and i think she'll deliver an excellent dessert lemon thyme tips are added so you're doing about five or
49:35six per plate it's all hidden with a white chocolate disc emblazoned with a poem by hannah moore
49:46the desks include a very cute picture of a young amber mark i'm going to show you where everything is
49:52guys we're going to need access to that last channel mark places the honey parfait and chocolate
49:57sable biscuit in the desks amber yeah can i just have you check these on the first table please
50:04yeah beautiful mix it's time for dessert from amber francis from the southwest inspired by hannah moore
50:12a philanthropist and education campaigner who established over a dozen schools in the west country
50:17please give a round of applause to the teachers that are here with us tonight and all teachers my mum's
50:24a teacher
50:27okay server please thank you guys writing facing the guests
50:39i absolutely love how that looks that's quite moving isn't it actually
50:48oh my goodness that is absolutely stunning that's so good the presentation the taste all of it was just
50:56sensational and my dish was absolutely delicious ridiculously proud of of amber the dish is
51:04exquisite so this is table seven blend and please seven dessert one veggie
51:15amazing absolutely amazing i was transported to a lovely place to which i'd like to go again
51:26oh gorgeous absolutely beautiful the set cream the fermented strawberries the honeycomb
51:36oh i loved it john will take four vegetarian please and service please walking coming backs
51:44i thought it was absolutely stunning i thought it was genius the idea of eating your words
51:56really really really tasty with the educational theme brilliant because education is liberation and service please
52:06service please it's quite frustrating isn't it ice cream sandwiches are melting
52:14service please
52:16oh my god
52:20but we're waiting okay this is going to table five make sure the writing is facing the guests please
52:30the set cream and the honeycomb strawberries were absolutely to die for i really love the charcoal biscuit and
52:37the honey coming through that was beautiful i really enjoyed that so it was absolutely amazing
52:41and i think it will do hannah more proud it's absolutely delicious every part of it okay service please that's
52:47three
52:47going to table ten
52:49that's it
52:52wey well done
52:53great power
52:55great power
52:57well done guys
53:03the strawberries were so intense and it blew your head off it was fantastic
53:11i've heard so much about it and now to taste it's lovely
53:14it's what she does best and i'm yeah so proud that everyone's got to enjoy it with us
53:19dessert was absolutely stunning it was really beautiful
53:23from the moment i saw the dessert for the first time i thought it was a banquet worthy dish
53:29she should be incredibly proud of herself it's a lovely story and a great dish
53:33this was a big surprise it's made me think very hard about using them
53:40it is now time for you to cast your vote voting cards will be coming around to vote for your
53:45favorite dish of the evening and we'll count them up and see you will be crowned our champion
53:53it's a really difficult choice but i think i'm going to go for the starter
53:57i just thought it was delicious and i thought the idea behind it was inspired
54:01i'm dessert all the way well my favorite course tonight was the fish it was really lovely
54:07i think that is my number one i love the main course i actually voted the fish tonight oh come
54:14on it's got to be the dessert i'm actually waiting for the fish because i thought it was beautifully
54:20cooked very refined i love the sauce i think i'm going to choose the main course every element of
54:26that dish was absolutely sensational i'm loyal to sally she's just created flavors that have just
54:33blown my mind so it's a starter for me my vote for champions champions was john for his main course
54:39to
54:40do goat for main course the banquet is really quite brave that delicious consomme uh of sally's fish
54:47the best there and back again john del port lovely beautiful foods gorgeously cooked and a great story
54:58thank you all so much for coming and of course a massive thank you to lady henrietta at blenheim and
55:04her
55:04amazing team thank you so much amazing so let's introduce you to the chefs first off we have our
55:13runner-up mark mccade who made your canapé give it up for mark please welcome to the stage the
55:21incredibly talented sally abe who made your star to nurse back to haye one chef who cooked not just your
55:29fish course but also your west african feast of a main is the exceptional john delaporte
55:34whoo let's hear it for the chef who created your stunning dessert amber francis give it up for amber
55:47just before we crown our champion i want to congratulate all the chefs on an extraordinary
55:5220th anniversary banquet well done guys
55:58the votes have been counted making history in our 20th year our champion of champions is
56:16the votes
56:19amber
56:29oh god
56:54Thank you
56:55Thank you so much everyone the voted for me and thank you so much to everyone that helped me and
56:59I'm chuffed to bits and I'm so proud to
57:02Hopefully show people that there's lots of different avenues in the restaurant industry
57:06So proud to be a school chef. It's the best thing I've ever done in my career. Thank you so
57:11much everyone
57:22Well done, I'm so good like well done
57:30I'm so pleased for yeah, you know
57:32She puts so so much work into that dessert and I think she really deserves it
57:36Congratulations. Well done to you. That's amazing amazing stuff. Thank you so much
57:41How are you I'm good nice to see you?
57:44Thank you for coming. It's a pleasure
57:50I gave you my
57:51Thank you so much for coming boys. They've loved it. Oh, I'm so glad
57:56And that relish yeah, it's surprisingly hot by the way. Yeah, I know it is
58:04To be part of the great British venue was my whole dream sit and done the whole banquet
58:08That's what I set out to do. So I'm relieved. I can relax now and yeah, just enjoy
58:13The best
58:19I'm over the moon. I'm so happy to just be here and to get this award is just phenomenal
58:27Yeah, I can't really fathom it at the moment
58:30Of course it was fabulous. Oh amazing. It's ridiculous
58:37We could not have celebrated 20 years of great British menu in any better way a
58:43Magnificent feast from four magnificent chefs. Cheers. Cheers everybody
59:03You
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