- 1 hour ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Happy birthday, Mr. President.
00:03Take three restaurants.
00:05Yay!
00:06Saluted for their scrumptious servings.
00:09Spice up the night.
00:09Happy without.
00:10Service.
00:11Ask each to host a three-course meal.
00:13Welcome to our dining experience.
00:15Which will be scored in secret.
00:17Ready.
00:17Let's go get it.
00:18Today.
00:19Stephen.
00:20Go ahead.
00:21Table tautness.
00:22It was a little bit warm, but not warm enough.
00:25I don't know if that's very dense.
00:28Flipping it.
00:28You could cut it with a knife.
00:30Meaty meltdowns.
00:31Medium, medium rare is all my preferencing.
00:34If I go out to eat and I'm paying good money, I want to have what I want.
00:38If you're a Michelin-style chef and you're, you know, you've proven yourself,
00:42maybe you can get away with it a little bit.
00:44And puree putdowns.
00:46Here we have our Cornish Place, lashings of cauliflower puree.
00:50Definitely, I think, was a dig.
00:52No, it was a dig.
00:54As they compete for £1,000 in cold, hard cash.
00:58I'm looking forward to the churrah.
01:07Today's prose competition comes from Oxfordshire, home of the Banbury Cake,
01:12which has been eaten here since the 1600s.
01:14I reckon the originals are a little past their best.
01:18And hoping to be just as popular as Chef Rehan and owner Asad of the Snooty Mehman in Farringdon.
01:25The name comes from where it used to be known as Snooty Fox, to replace it with Mehman, which means
01:30guest, so it's the Snooty guest.
01:31And it's been, yeah, just gone over 12 years now.
01:34So we do a Pan-Asian selection incorporating South Asian ingredients along with the Far Eastern options as well.
01:40So it's brand new taste memories for our customers.
01:43And this is something that extinguishes us from the crowd.
01:46And that's why we're going to win.
01:48Give us a sniff of what your guests are getting then.
01:50We're taking you on a culinary taste journey.
01:53And once you take that journey, you're coming back for more.
01:56Buckle up.
01:56The ride starts with dessert.
01:59Gadjuro.
02:00Gadjahalvachuro with vanilla pod ice cream and a roasted cashew crumb.
02:05The gajuro.
02:09Are you laughing at it?
02:10Your pronunciation?
02:11I can't pronounce it.
02:12Would you like to try?
02:13No.
02:14Meet owner and front of house Sebastian and head chef Sam of the old Coaching Inn, also in Farringdon.
02:21So we're a brand new restaurant.
02:22We've been trading for four or five months,
02:24whilst we get the kitchen renovated, as well as the restaurant.
02:27We're a fine dining restaurant,
02:28so we've sort of elevated our experience to really good food,
02:33really good wine, understand about our seasons.
02:35One repotter, two beef, one more done.
02:37Service!
02:39Any fine foods you don't eat?
02:41Kebabs.
02:42If you haven't ever had a kebab, mate,
02:43and there's people like,
02:44well, surely after a night hour or something, you'll have a kebab.
02:46You went to university.
02:47A kebab shop doesn't factor in.
02:48No, the kebab shop's a good tactical.
02:49You go out at a nightclub, kebab shop, stumble home, half a kebab's on the floor.
02:53I think we'll leave it there.
02:55Back with tonight's hosts!
02:57We've got a winning dessert here tonight.
02:59This is the carrot halvo.
03:00This is an authentic recipe towards the ganja halvo itself,
03:04but actually we're encasing it in a churro-like style dough.
03:09Asad, what we're doing here is taking you out of your comfort zone,
03:12putting you into a place that maybe you don't want to be.
03:15Sounds ominous.
03:17There we go.
03:18Close and encase it.
03:20There you go.
03:20Hold it down.
03:21You're a natural.
03:23You can't argue with that, can you?
03:24On a first attempt as well.
03:26Boss.
03:27Boss.
03:27Nice work.
03:28Come join us in the kitchen.
03:29Come on.
03:30Nah.
03:30I beg you.
03:31You're a natural.
03:33It's gone now.
03:35I don't feel I can serve this one.
03:36I won't tell him.
03:38Gadjar?
03:40Well, my girlfriend's a linguist.
03:43I'll give her a quick call.
03:45Meet our final catering couple, front of house Sharon,
03:48with owner and head chef Stephen,
03:50from Luscombs at the Golden Ball in Henley.
03:53We do fresh, tasty and simple food.
03:57We don't mess around with it.
03:58It's been going for 14 years now.
04:01Steve's cooking is just absolutely top.
04:04That's good.
04:05What about the bad?
04:06The worst thing is that he doesn't have any filters sometimes.
04:10I'm going to be absolutely honest.
04:13And if I love it, and I'm going to go somewhere else
04:15and I love it, I'm going to say that I love it.
04:17If I don't, I'm going to say I don't.
04:18Could be interesting.
04:22Let's hope you like Rahan's pud.
04:24He'll fry and serve his gajuro tonight.
04:27On to the starter then, the travelling monk.
04:30Grilled monkfish with Ghosn spiced influences
04:32and fresh Bengali lime.
04:34And for Sharon, a vegetarian samosa chart.
04:39Sounds amazing.
04:40Love spice.
04:42Mm-hm.
04:42Yeah, mine sounds absolutely delicious.
04:44Looking forward to that.
04:45Big time.
04:46Sounds really good.
04:47So it's obviously an Indian.
04:49Yeah.
04:49Spot on.
04:50The idea and the notion behind the name
04:52comes from the depths of ingredients
04:54that are from across India.
04:56Rahan starts with the monkfish marinade.
04:58That encompasses about 22 different spices mixed in a balanced level.
05:03In goes a spice mix with garam masala and Thai paste.
05:06What you're smelling is the unlocking of all the essential oils
05:09from the spices that are coming out.
05:13Cool, yeah, I can see what you mean.
05:15It sounds like a nice dish.
05:17I love monkfish and I love curry, so why not?
05:20Monkfish filleted, it's mixed with the marinade.
05:24You're gently massaging.
05:25The fish is quite fragile.
05:27The fragile fish will be baked later and served with Bengali lime.
05:31One of these costs 14 pounds.
05:33I'm guessing you don't put them in the drinks, then.
05:36On to the main, Malay yang.
05:37A take on a Malaysian satay curry with grilled Thai chicken supreme.
05:42And Sharon's veggie option will be served with mock lamb.
05:46They've got a lot to compete with,
05:48because my mum makes a very good satay.
05:50Love Thai food, been to Thailand,
05:51so I'll see how it's delivered and what sort of depth on the flavour.
05:55This is going to be our main today.
05:57This is why it's going to be a winner.
05:58It's the Malay yang.
05:59It's a take on the satay curry of Malaysia,
06:01combined with South Indian spices.
06:04You think you've got enough?
06:06Spice up the night.
06:07Spice up the night.
06:08The chicken is coated in the spicy selection.
06:11I don't want to look overspice this.
06:13And once marinated, it's in to chill
06:15and will be cooked later alongside Sharon's mock lamb.
06:18It's made from mushroom protein, soya protein.
06:21I'm not a lover of anything that's mock animal.
06:26Bodes well.
06:27That's prep done.
06:28We can now go get ready for our guests.
06:31Brilliant. Let's go get it.
06:32Overall, I'm super excited about tonight,
06:35and I love, love Indian food.
06:39Let's see how the dessert goes,
06:40because I'm looking forward to the churro.
06:43First in is Sharon and Stephen from Luscombs.
06:46Hello. Welcome.
06:48Hi.
06:48How are you?
06:49Very well.
06:49Nice to meet you.
06:51What's your name?
06:51Sharon.
06:52Pleasure.
06:52Stephen, Asad.
06:53Stephen.
06:54Go ahead.
06:56Hi.
06:57How's it going?
06:58Got there in the end.
06:59This is Asad, the owner of the restaurant.
07:01My name's Rahan, the executive chef here.
07:04So, we've been working together for a long time now,
07:06and looking forward to feeding you some wonderful food tonight.
07:09Joining the jamboree are Sebastian and Sam from the Old Crown Coaching Inn.
07:13Hello.
07:14Hi, Sam.
07:15You've got a strong grip, you, Sam.
07:17Thank you, Sam.
07:17Nice to meet you.
07:18You all right?
07:18We're up first, so pole position.
07:19So, welcome to the Snooty Mehman.
07:21It's a pleasure to have you here tonight,
07:23and we're going to take you on a culinary artisan Asian journey.
07:25So, cheers to a great night. Let's have fun.
07:27Cheers.
07:29Coming up, Extravagant Tigos.
07:31When we met, I think Sharon thought that I was the star.
07:35What star?
07:35Stephen, he's slightly opinionated.
07:38He definitely talks the talk, so I'm looking forward to seeing you all the world.
07:42And veggie verdict.
07:43I don't like pale barley.
07:45Erm, to...
07:46Yeah, you're not like pale barley.
07:48No.
07:48Erm, I used to feed it to my horse.
07:57It's night one in Oxfordshire.
07:59Cheers.
07:59Cheers.
08:00We're at the Snooty Mehman.
08:02Rayhan and Asad are serving up a menu of Pan-Asian persuasion,
08:06starting with some baked monkfish.
08:08What do you think?
08:09All looking good.
08:10It's the first impression.
08:12It's the last impression.
08:14And here it is, the travelling monk.
08:16Grilled monkfish with Bengali lime.
08:19And for Sharon, a vegetarian samosa chaat.
08:24Lovely. Thank you.
08:26Wow, thank you so much.
08:27This is our travelling monk.
08:28Bengali lime is only found in Bangladesh.
08:29You would have never tried it before.
08:32The difference between this lime and others is you can eat the whole thing.
08:35Enjoy.
08:40It's a lime.
08:42Seriously.
08:43I mean, I prefer the kaffir lime anyway,
08:45which I think has more of a wow factor to it.
08:49Why the travelling monk?
08:50You've got the migration of people across Asia.
08:53The monks that would travel across many miles to spread the word would also take different types of food with
09:01them.
09:01And the different recipes from Bangladesh to India to the Far East.
09:06These are the elements that are built within the plate.
09:08Very interesting flavours.
09:10The lime.
09:10Oh, yeah.
09:11Yeah.
09:11I enjoyed that.
09:12The chilli is nice and spicy.
09:14I love my spicy food, so it definitely hits it on that level.
09:17It didn't blow me away, but I liked it.
09:20The fish was cooked really, really well.
09:22I thought maybe something else could have been in there to bring it together.
09:27Sure.
09:27Stephen's comment of his feedback on how it could have been an additional flavour added into that.
09:34Yeah.
09:34Great.
09:35We love that.
09:36That's what we want to know, so I think that's awesome.
09:38Lovely.
09:39Shall we have some chart about your samosa, Sharon?
09:42Delicious.
09:42There's a really tangy, spicy on my tongue.
09:46Yeah, so there's loads of flavours coming out and it's the mixture that's gone in there.
09:51Yeah, you've got a bit of everything kicking in.
09:53I really enjoyed my starter, although too much mango, you know, for me personally.
09:57I did find it quite sweet.
09:59Where did you get your inspiration from and why did you become a chef at the beginning?
10:04Being a second generation Asian, fathers had multiple restaurants, so kind of born into it in that respect.
10:12Started working at 11 years old in a takeaway.
10:15And as a young teenager, you want to run the other way.
10:18But as you grow older, you realise this is what you're born to do.
10:22Big respect to these guys.
10:23Genuine.
10:24Really like them.
10:25Really knowledgeable.
10:26I mean, just beautiful souls.
10:28You've obviously all had first taste experiences.
10:32What's one that sticks out in your mind?
10:34Lobster.
10:35Yes, nice.
10:35In Egypt.
10:37Haggadah.
10:37Mmm, delicious.
10:39Sam?
10:39When I was travelling, I was lucky enough to experience different cuisines and, like, from crickets to ants.
10:46Ants?
10:46We're looking at sustainable food and I'm not having it on the menu because I don't think people will come.
10:52Just ants?
10:53Yes.
10:54It's a big bowl.
10:56Empty place is always a good sign.
10:57Always a good sign.
10:58Still in the lead.
10:59We've had a pit stop now and we're on to the next one.
11:02With that, it's time to get things moving with the main.
11:07Meat and sauce are mixed and it's ready to go.
11:10Happy with that.
11:11Let's get that to the table.
11:12Here's the main.
11:13Malay Yang.
11:14Malaysian satay sauce with a Thai chicken supreme and a mock lamb veggie version for Sharon.
11:21Thank you so much.
11:23This is the Malay Yang.
11:25Welcome to Malaysia.
11:26Enjoy.
11:31I think that the chicken, you know, is cooked superbly.
11:35I really enjoyed the moisture.
11:37And no-one's missing rice.
11:40No rice?
11:40No.
11:41Yeah, we thought about rice and then I looked at it and said, actually, to provide rice with this dish,
11:48it's going to zap out a lot of the flavour against it.
11:52It didn't feel like a complete dish.
11:54It was a beautiful dish and beautifully presented and just needed a bit of a carbohydrate or a rice on
12:01the side just to get going.
12:02I will agree.
12:03I mean, I like my carbs.
12:04I wanted some rice.
12:05Even if it's a little bit of rice.
12:07I like rice.
12:07I like rice.
12:08I wanted rice.
12:08It wasn't enough with just licking up because the chicken breast was quite small.
12:12Asad said that we should have rice on the table.
12:14I said it doesn't need it.
12:16Of course, you're going to say, I told you so.
12:18Say it.
12:19Just get out of your system.
12:20I told you so.
12:20There we go.
12:21I love the sauce.
12:22I think if you'd have described it not as lamb.
12:25Yes.
12:26I would feel much more comfortable about eating it.
12:29I don't understand why there's this huge market to make mock animal food when you're a vegetarian.
12:36Good solid feedback on the mock as well.
12:39We've got the cold hard truth and that's more important to us knowing these things with things developing in the
12:46future.
12:46How did you guys meet?
12:48I was working at our major competition.
12:51Another destination restaurant in the area.
12:55I went round there.
12:57Did you poach?
12:58No, no, no.
12:58I just went round there because I was going to work with him.
13:01He stole me.
13:01No, no, no.
13:02I was on the edge of sort of like...
13:03So you stole each other?
13:03Shall I work with the...
13:05You know, the major...
13:05I have actually got a job opening at the moment if you're interested.
13:09When we met, I think Sharon thought that I was the star.
13:12What star?
13:13No, no.
13:14But at the end, you turned out to be the star.
13:16Did I?
13:17Aww.
13:18Isn't that so sweet?
13:18See?
13:19We had a conversation about this front of the house is number one.
13:21It's only because he offered me a job.
13:24Sharon was very polite, very hospitable as well.
13:27Steven, he's, I think, slightly opinionated.
13:30He definitely talks the talk, so I would look forward to seeing him.
13:33Didn't he walk the walk?
13:34Yeah.
13:35I think it went really well.
13:37I think so.
13:38Yeah, but it's the rice thing is, it's not your high street curry house.
13:43This is elevated cuisine.
13:44Here's hoping for a divine dessert.
13:47Look all right, I think.
13:48I think they look good.
13:49Happy with it?
13:50I'm happy with it.
13:50Tonight's final course, ganjuro with vanilla ice cream.
13:55Thank you very much.
13:56There we go.
13:56This is the ganjohalva, which is the churro that we've created.
14:02Main ingredient for this is carrots, so it's going to be interesting to see what you think.
14:04Wow.
14:05Lovely.
14:05OK.
14:07Bon appetit.
14:12I think I've gone to heaven.
14:13Oh, wow.
14:14Oh, wow.
14:15Thank you so much.
14:16I mean, I was actually going to cry halfway through eating.
14:20It's just amazing.
14:24Great start.
14:25Sadly, it's not for me.
14:27Not so good.
14:27And that's only, I'm a pudding man myself, but for me, it's OK.
14:32Sadly.
14:34You know, roadside cafe.
14:35No.
14:36I'm thinking, I am, seriously.
14:38Come on.
14:39Ice cream, a few berries, and some fried thing with carrot in it.
14:46It just did nothing for me.
14:48No, seriously.
14:49I think it's a really nice dessert.
14:50And, yeah, good job.
14:52The vanilla ice cream dominates that.
14:54I got more vanilla than I would've got the churro.
14:58It didn't have a lot of flavour.
14:59Like, I like a little bit of heat in it.
15:01Like, they rocked the spiciest on their ice cream.
15:04Why not do it for desserts?
15:05Still, you bravely finished it off.
15:06If you weren't doing the job that you're doing right now,
15:10what would you ideally be?
15:12A stuntwoman.
15:14Go on.
15:14A stuntwoman?
15:16I'd like to be a stuntwoman.
15:17What stunts would you like to do?
15:19Fast ones.
15:20I'd rather actually be a stuntwoman than a front house.
15:24It's not too late.
15:26I think it went really well.
15:28We got some positive feedback.
15:30We got some critical analysis from professionals,
15:32but also pole position.
15:35Points on the board.
15:36Hopefully.
15:37Hopefully.
15:37Hopefully.
15:38Scores, please.
15:40Rihan and Nassad were both great hosts.
15:42We had a fantastic evening.
15:43The food was fantastic.
15:44Each course was something slightly missing.
15:47And for that reason, we're going to score them...
15:4916.
15:4916.
15:50They made us so welcome.
15:52But we had a mixed bag on the food.
15:56You liked stuff.
15:57I didn't.
15:58This is why we scored them 13.
16:00Which gives the snooty mahmarn a not-to-be-sniffed-at
16:0429 out of 40.
16:09Next to throw their hat into the ring are Sebastian and Sam
16:12from the Old Crown Coaching Inn.
16:14They might understatement us a little bit.
16:16We do have a wealth of experience, but it's not as much as Stephen's,
16:19it's not as much as Nassad's.
16:21What we're going to be looking for, a professional, astute menu that delivers at the highest possible level.
16:28I'm thinking that it's going to be probably more fine dining, the style of food that they do.
16:34We've got a fantastic food offering, a superb menu.
16:37So have it how we like it, and you'll enjoy it.
16:40My way or the highway.
16:42I was happy with that.
16:43Fair enough.
16:43Let's get things going with the main then.
16:46Roasted beef sirloin served medium with bone marrow poached leeks, leek puree and roscoff onions.
16:52And pearl barley with stilton for Sharon.
16:55Stephen would be very hard to go on that one to say, right, you're not telling me how I'm going
17:00to have my steak.
17:01It's served medium, is that, are you happy with that?
17:04Yeah.
17:04Yeah?
17:05Yeah, I don't want it rare, too rare.
17:08That's how a chef believes the dish should be served, and therefore it's served in that manner.
17:12I'm a medium rare kind of guy.
17:14Not tonight, you're not.
17:15We get Scottish Highland cattle, and that's to showcase it.
17:19And that's it for the steak.
17:21How would you like me to cut the onions, chef?
17:22Brumois, please.
17:23I don't know what that is.
17:24It's really fine, nice.
17:26Oh, no.
17:26Your knife's a bit too sharp.
17:28Show me how you do it.
17:29So, yeah.
17:31Maybe I should stick to front of house.
17:33That'd be best.
17:33With Seb banished, Sam can have a flaming good time with his Roscoff onions.
17:38They're caramelised in cherry vinegar.
17:40They're not burnt, they're caramelised.
17:42With the charred onions cooling, Sam's lopping leeks.
17:46They're going to be poached now in bone marrow.
17:48Not a fan of bone marrow, don't like it at all.
17:52How about butter?
17:53Yes, there's a lot of butter.
17:55But yes, the leeks will be absolutely amazing.
17:57On they go.
17:58I love bone marrow, so that, for me, could be pretty damn awesome.
18:04They'll reheat later.
18:05Just time to knock up Sharon's pearl barley.
18:08Bit of silt in, for me, a little bit of flavour.
18:10I don't like pearl barley.
18:12Erm, I'm not a lover of blue cheese.
18:16Erm, so...
18:17You can have mine here.
18:18..will be interesting to, erm...
18:21Yeah, you're not like pearl barley.
18:22..to try that. No.
18:23Erm, I used to feed it to my horse.
18:25Surely not with blue cheese, though.
18:26Easy, Samson.
18:29Starter time.
18:30Scallops with razzle hanout chicken wings and cauliflower puree.
18:34And for Sharon, roasted beurre noisette cauliflower.
18:39Really looking forward to it.
18:40Know this dish well.
18:42There is a lot going on.
18:44So, they'll get, er, two scallops.
18:46Fresh hand-dyed scallops this morning.
18:48The scallops will be cooked after the guests arrive.
18:51Onto the chicken wings.
18:52The razzle and loot faced with a mixed spice.
18:55Sort of smoky spiciness.
18:57They're pan-fried.
18:59So, don't eat bone in to make it easier to eat.
19:01We want them to really enjoy this
19:02and not have to worry about getting chicken off their fingers.
19:06We're having wings to start, we won't be winging it tonight.
19:08Or get it in a flap!
19:10Next, Sam knocks up a cauliflower puree.
19:13That'll be interesting.
19:15Yeah.
19:15I'm excited.
19:16So is Sebastian.
19:17Tastes lovely.
19:18Finally, dessert.
19:20Chocolate Delise in a caramel chocolate cage with salt milk ice cream.
19:24What do you think?
19:25Chocolate.
19:26Yeah.
19:26I'm there.
19:27This is something that has to shine.
19:30So, basically, it's a Delise French dessert.
19:32In essence, it's a set of chocolate mousse.
19:35Yeah, I think it's a winning dessert right there, chef.
19:37And it's in to chill.
19:39Caramel cage.
19:41Yeah.
19:41I was making them when I was about 13.
19:43Woo-hoo!
19:44Tonight's have been pre-made.
19:46These take a lot of time to make.
19:48They're not as simple as people lay out.
19:50It's quite an art, that, isn't it?
19:51No.
19:52No?
19:52Well, yes, but, I mean, it's just that you don't do it any more.
19:56Sam does and will serve with homemade ice cream.
19:58And that's the prep done.
20:00Let's get ready for our guests.
20:01OK, let's smash it.
20:03I'm looking forward to something that's going to be much more elevated.
20:06I was expecting something, you know, from a younger guy, something a bit more cutting edge.
20:15Sauntering in first are the snooty boys, Rahan and Asad.
20:18Welcome, welcome.
20:19Good to see you again.
20:20Good to see you again.
20:20How are you?
20:21How are we doing?
20:22Very well.
20:23How are you, Chef?
20:23How are we doing?
20:24Good to see you again.
20:24Up next are Sharon and Stephen.
20:27Oh, hello!
20:28Hello!
20:29How are you?
20:30Good to see you again.
20:31How are you?
20:31Would you like a drink?
20:32Yes, please.
20:34How's your day been?
20:36Good, actually, yeah.
20:37Super.
20:37Quick cycle.
20:38With me on the handlebars.
20:40Yeah.
20:41That was interesting.
20:42Sharon and Stephen, great to see them again.
20:44You know, they're definitely one to watch.
20:47I feel like Stephen especially is going to be very nitpicky this evening.
20:51Welcome to the old Crown Coaching Inn in Farringdon.
20:53Cheers!
20:54Cheers!
20:55Coming up, filleting failures.
20:57I found a bone.
20:58Oh, sorry.
20:59Sorry.
21:00Someone hasn't done their job and it does fall with the head chef.
21:03And beefy beefs.
21:05The beef for me is too well done.
21:07I agree.
21:08It's overcooked.
21:10Unfortunately, these things do happen.
21:19It's night two in Oxfordshire.
21:21Cheers!
21:23Where Sebastian and Sam of the old Crown Coaching Inn are hoping their fabulous fine dining experience
21:28finds them in first place.
21:30We are hungry to go, so I think we should knock it out of the park.
21:36Let's get those scallops sautéed and on the plate.
21:39Looks great, chef.
21:40Service!
21:42Here's the starter.
21:43Scallops with bone chicken wings, curried cauliflower crisp and cauliflower puree.
21:47And for Sharon, roasted cauliflower, cauliflower crisp and curried foam.
21:54We've got a pan-sized scallop with razzle and a chicken wing, which has been de-boned.
21:58Enjoy.
22:00Oh, sorry.
22:01Don't mind me.
22:02Oh, fruity.
22:03How was your starters?
22:05I'm enjoying it.
22:06Well-cooked cauliflower, very nice, and very subtle flavours.
22:11For me, the spice was just right.
22:14A bit more cauliflower puree for me.
22:16The cauliflower puree was very underwhelming.
22:20I wanted stacks of it on there.
22:22With scallops, you either got it right or you haven't.
22:24I think it's just gone a bit rubbery in my mouth.
22:26I was chewing for a bit longer than I probably should need to.
22:29I'm enjoying it.
22:29I found a bone.
22:30Oh, sorry.
22:33But the flavours are great.
22:35For me, when he started and he said, the chicken's been de-boned, and then I had a bone in
22:42the chicken.
22:43Someone hasn't done their job.
22:44Someone hasn't checked it.
22:45And it does fall with the head chef.
22:47On the bottom of the menu, it does say, may find bones.
22:50Does it?
22:51Well, it does.
22:51It's a stamer.
22:52Okay.
22:53Standard one.
22:53Yeah, I think I was more out of pressure today.
22:59I might have missed one, but unfortunately, he was okay about it and he understood.
23:04If you were on a talk show, who would be your first guest you invite and why?
23:09I would love to meet Tom Cruise.
23:12No, seriously, because we're the same height.
23:16Are you going to be a stunt double?
23:17Yeah, no.
23:18That's Sharon's job.
23:21And...
23:21Scientology?
23:22Well, no, because I've had girlfriends and continue to have girlfriends who are slightly
23:26taller than me, and I just feel that similarity.
23:30Could we be twins?
23:32Father and son?
23:33Are you twins?
23:34Yes.
23:34Oh, my God.
23:36Fibber.
23:37Do I think Stephen looks like Tom Cruise?
23:39He's got the height on them.
23:41I mean...
23:44No.
23:45So, Bear Grylls?
23:47Oh, you're a man of my heart.
23:50You're a man of my heart.
23:51I actually had a Bear Grylls shrine when I was about 12 or 13 years old.
23:55I even wrote to him.
23:56I found out where he lived and wrote to him and said we should do a show together where
24:00we do, like, Bear Grylls and Kid.
24:02And he wrote back.
24:03He did write back.
24:04He said, go for it.
24:05Bear.
24:06This is one thing I like about Seb.
24:08He owns it.
24:10So, whatever he's doing or whatever he's into, he's fully into it.
24:14It will let people know.
24:15And it doesn't matter what you say.
24:17He is on it.
24:18Very, very happy to see that everything was eaten.
24:20Stephen's changed a little bit on the starters.
24:22We've still got two courses to go.
24:23But he seemed very, very positive on the starter.
24:26And the main course is going to blow everyone away.
24:29So long as Sam's happy with his meat.
24:31Like, look at that.
24:33Meaning well.
24:34Oh, dear.
24:36F**k.
24:37Sorry for the wherein.
24:39Here it is.
24:40Roasted beef sirloin served medium, bone marrow poached leeks, giroles, leek puree and truffle jus.
24:46And pearl barley with stilton for Sharon.
24:52I hope you enjoy this.
24:53Fantastic.
24:57The beef for me is too well done.
25:00It's not well done.
25:01I agree.
25:02It's overcooked.
25:03I'm more of like a medium, medium rare.
25:06So, when we looked at the menu and it said medium only, I was like...
25:11The main, obviously, the centrepiece of the steak, the whole dish.
25:15That is the main event.
25:16That is the main event.
25:17Yeah.
25:17That was the disappointing part.
25:19The beef was slightly overcooked.
25:22Unfortunately, these things do happen and we just have to get on with it and take the criticism.
25:26He took a risk by going medium only.
25:30Yeah.
25:30That did not play out well on the table.
25:32Why did you put on the menu medium only?
25:34We've had...
25:35So, we're the sort of type of restaurant we're going for.
25:39We're not steak restaurant.
25:41We serve more dishes that I want to sort of serve.
25:45I can understand personal preferences but I want people to understand that medium, medium rare is all of my preferencing
25:51and hopefully people will enjoy that.
25:53When we were discussing about how he wanted the food to be and not actually how your client or your
26:02customer wanted to be, he's heading down a very dangerous road because the fact is you have to give your
26:08customers what they want, not what you want to do.
26:10If you're blinkered and you have a chef who's blinkered, you know, it's a road for disaster.
26:16If I go out to eat and I'm paying good money, I want to have what I want, not what
26:22the chef wants.
26:23And I know it is difficult.
26:24Yeah.
26:25But I think that in the long term that that sort of attitude, no?
26:30Yeah.
26:31Yeah.
26:32It could be a problem.
26:34If you come to a restaurant like ours, I'd like to go, this I know is the best possible temperature
26:40for it.
26:41Yeah.
26:41But are you saying to me that if I don't like my food how you like it, I'm not welcome?
26:46Is that what you're saying?
26:47No, I've been not saying at all.
26:48No, no, I'm just asking.
26:49No, no, no.
26:49And also, I work with Sam all day every day.
26:53I know how he wants to cook the food.
26:54I have a lot of guests who ask questions like, I want my food cooked this way.
26:58Yeah.
26:58And I know that's not how he wants to do it, but I put the ticket through, I put the
27:01request on there and it always gets done.
27:03I'll move mountains for our guests.
27:05It's always about making sure that they leave as happy as they can.
27:07If you're a Michelin star chef and you're, you know, you've proven yourself, maybe you can get away with it
27:13a little bit.
27:13But on the road up, you have to be a little bit more humble.
27:17For me, what I really don't like in people is speaking in a condescending way.
27:22I do feel like he came across that on the table.
27:24It's breaking that ethos and that stigma of going, well, when I come to a restaurant, I want exactly what
27:29I want to do.
27:30You're trusting professionals to go, actually, chef, you exactly know what you've done.
27:35You've got a lot of experience trusting what we do and trusting what we deliver.
27:38It ain't over yet.
27:40Let's see if you can deliver a divine dessert.
27:43Chef, this is absolutely fantastic.
27:45Chocolate de Lys with a caramel chocolate cage, candied hazelnut and salt milk ice cream.
27:50Thank you very much.
27:52Enjoy.
27:59So, Steven, I'm going straight to you.
28:00Let's get it over with.
28:05For me, your best dish.
28:06Yay!
28:07And no, I love the ice cream.
28:10Nice balance with the salt.
28:11I did enjoy it.
28:12It really sort of saved the day for me a bit, to be honest.
28:15I find the chocolate too bitter for me, personally.
28:18People have valid opinions and dark chocolate isn't for everyone.
28:21The caramel cage, I was expecting something a little bit different.
28:25Did you say caramel chocolate?
28:26It's a caramel chocolate cage, yeah, sorry.
28:28The cage that I envisioned in my head was not that.
28:31It was more of a taco, if you say, rather than a cage.
28:35How would that not be a cage?
28:37It's wrapping the dessert around a cage.
28:41It's enclosed.
28:43How is that on a cage?
28:45Scores, please!
28:46Seb and Sam sadly did not live up to our expectations.
28:50We were really looking forward to it tonight,
28:52but we felt really disappointed.
28:56And hence, we have scored...
28:5713.
28:5813.
28:59Due to a few mishaps that happened through the evening,
29:02it's going to be an unlucky 13.
29:05Which means the Old Crown coaching in score 26,
29:08putting them in second place.
29:13It's the final day of the competition with Sharon and Steven
29:17in the lush location of Luscombs at the Golden Ball in Henley.
29:20Any nerves at all?
29:21Oh, they're out for us, because they know.
29:23I mean, we're last.
29:24You know, we've said our piece.
29:26Well, I have.
29:27I'd like to see what he can back up,
29:29because he's very opinionated,
29:31and I'd like to see if that age of experience,
29:35as he keeps on mentioning, will reflect.
29:37Expecting wonderful food.
29:38I think that's a starting point.
29:41OK, Sharon, can you please leave?
29:44Sure.
29:44I have work to do.
29:45Charming.
29:46I'm going.
29:47Tonight's starter, tuna carpaccio,
29:49with oriental spices, ginger and sesame,
29:51and a shaved fennel salad with lime dressing.
29:55Sounds delicious.
29:57I think so, yeah.
29:58Yeah, that sounds delicious.
29:59I think it's quite safe in terms of, yes,
30:01tuna carpaccio is a classic.
30:03You can't overcook it, though.
30:04Well, you can't overcook it.
30:06Stephen starts by chopping up the ginger for his tuna dressing.
30:09I'm not sure, um,
30:11I'd say he was spicing ginger, tuna,
30:13whether that goes with it.
30:15I'm going to give lashings of this ginger,
30:16because it's really tasty.
30:18And he mixes with lashings of sesame oil.
30:21Sesame oil was my thing.
30:22If I could have it as an air freshener, I would.
30:24Try hanging that on your rear view mirror.
30:27That dressing is a killer dressing.
30:30Not literally, I hope.
30:32Onto the salad.
30:33So we're just going to juice these lovely juicy limes.
30:37And we're done.
30:38In goes sugar.
30:39If you're on a diet, you don't have it.
30:42Next he shaves fennel.
30:44How about that?
30:46Yeah.
30:46So this is going to go through the salad leaves tonight.
30:49How about the main event?
30:51So our tuna crust mix is 50-50 ground cumin and coriander.
30:57And, of course, this is a very individual dish.
30:58You won't see this in a book or a magazine.
31:01I've probably not seen this on every sort of pub restaurant menu
31:04in the last ten years.
31:05Really?
31:06On here we have the crust of the ground coriander and cumin,
31:09with the ginger is a winning combination.
31:11It'll go into chill till tonight.
31:14Now the main Cornish place
31:15with cauliflower puree, lemon balm and courgettes.
31:19It's a safe, mate.
31:21Erm, it's been done and tried and tested.
31:23Maybe fish is his safe place.
31:26I see what you did there.
31:27I'm just making it look like it's just come out of the sea.
31:29Did you catch it this morning, Stephen?
31:31I did, yeah, I was out at 3am.
31:34Got the helicopter back from Cornwall.
31:36Ah, vivid imagination.
31:38And, er, landed on the garden.
31:41Oh, speaking of gardens, Sharon's off to parlay with some poultry.
31:45Hello, girls.
31:46You going to come out?
31:47All right.
31:48Let's go.
31:50Good girl.
31:52They're my turkey dogs.
31:53So we've got Joan of Arc, Catherine the Great, Florence Nightingale.
31:58So while Steve's in the kitchen, I'm making sure the turkeys are happy
32:02and ready to greet everybody tonight.
32:04Well, that's different.
32:06Meanwhile, Stephen's filleting his fish.
32:08By doing this myself, there's going to be no bones and give them no reason to come at me.
32:14This will be the place to be.
32:16Oh, sadly, Rahan's already done that one.
32:19So we've just put it in the fridge tonight now.
32:21Just time to knock up a cauliflower puree.
32:24Cauliflower puree, will they have enough tonight or not?
32:26And will I have a massive bowl rather than a little bit?
32:30Good.
32:31Rock and roll.
32:32With the results so far, I'm so confident.
32:35Show me the money.
32:37First dessert, raspberry souffle with roasted peaches and vanilla ice cream.
32:42Souffle as a whole have never really been my bag.
32:45But I do like peaches.
32:47If you just scroll through Instagram, you're going to see hundreds of these things.
32:50Our souffles here are, you know, famous in this area.
32:54You know, we're renowned for people come from all over to try them.
32:57Stephen's starts with flour mixed with egg yolks.
33:00We're hoping they're going to be on the money like they are every night.
33:03Then in goes milk and raspberry coulis.
33:06Yeah.
33:08Looking good.
33:09He knocks up another mixture with raspberry puree before combining.
33:14Souffles are not easy to make.
33:16It's pretty safe.
33:18It's not overly complex.
33:20Looks like a fair bit of work to me.
33:22Look at that.
33:24Good job.
33:24That's a lot of souffles.
33:26Before we get put out to pasture, we're going to prove that we've still got it.
33:31Yep.
33:32We're going to show these young whippersnappers.
33:33I think you got your work cut out.
33:35I've had these things before.
33:39I've seen these things on menus.
33:41Yeah.
33:41This is not something new.
33:43It's extremely safe.
33:45You can tell it's his happy place.
33:47He knows what he's doing in that one.
33:48First up are Rehan and Asad.
33:51Hello.
33:52Hi.
33:52How are you?
33:53Thanks for having us.
33:54For you.
33:55Please.
33:55For you.
33:56Thank you very much.
33:57And here are Sebastian and Sam.
33:59We hope you have a wonderful, wonderful evening.
34:01Cheers.
34:02Cheers.
34:02Cheers.
34:16Cheers.
34:19Cheers.
34:20Cheers.
34:30Cheers.
34:31Cheers.
34:32Cheers.
34:32Cheers.
34:32Cheers.
34:33Cheers.
34:33Cheers.
34:33Cheers.
34:34Cheers.
34:35Cheers.
34:35Cheers.
34:35Cheers.
34:35Cheers.
34:37So, I'd like to introduce you now to the rest of our team and family,
34:44the turkey girls.
34:45How many plates can they carry?
34:47One on the back, yeah, it won't work.
34:48It's nearly Christmas.
34:49Rehan!
34:50We are going to win.
34:52We are going to win.
34:53We're going to win.
34:53Because we're winners, aren't we?
34:54We are.
34:55As the spirit, the fennel salad is dressed while the tuna is tended to...
35:00Happy with that?
35:01Very.
35:01It's delicious.
35:03Is the starter tuna carpaccio with a fennel salad?
35:07Thank you very much.
35:08Welcome to our dining experience.
35:10This is our tuna carpaccio.
35:12Enjoy.
35:18Chef, what do you think of it?
35:21Yeah, it's decently presented.
35:25It's got the hints of the Orient.
35:31Probably could be a bit more punchier on those flavours.
35:38Oh, it's all a bit quiet.
35:41Probably agree with Rehan.
35:42A little bit in that.
35:43I feel a bit more punchier with the oriental spices, maybe.
35:46I'd agree.
35:47Like a little bit more of the soy.
35:50Maybe a touch of wasabi.
35:52Just a pan-Asian, sort of oriented stuff.
35:56It was never intended to be a hot, fiery spice.
36:00I mean, you know, I love wasabi, but nah, not for this dish.
36:03Not going to happen.
36:04The starter for me was underwhelming.
36:06I love sesame.
36:07But you weren't getting the tuna flavours because the sesame,
36:11it was just too strong.
36:12It was just too strong, yeah.
36:12So, personally, I found the starter a bit lacking.
36:15It strikes me as, well, you've done it for the last 20 years.
36:19You've stuck with your game.
36:21Fair enough.
36:21And it seems to have worked.
36:23I mean, you know, they ate everything.
36:25It's a fantastic dish and I still stand by that.
36:28I was expecting, you know, a little bit more from them, you know?
36:32A bit more, come on.
36:33Yeah, but I think it's because they didn't know what else to say.
36:35They didn't have anything to say about it because it was so good.
36:38Yeah.
36:39Maybe change the subject, Sharon.
36:41As I'm the only female here this evening,
36:45my question is, if you could be any woman,
36:48which woman would it be?
36:51If I was any woman, it would be my mother.
36:54I was thinking that, too.
36:55Oh, my God, that's so sweet.
36:56You got that first.
36:57You got that first.
36:58That's all it is.
36:59I would be Mary, mother of Jesus.
37:02Ah, man.
37:03Interesting.
37:04Yeah, I'm going to be Marilyn Monroe.
37:05I'm going to lighten the mood here and, you know,
37:07just want to have some fun.
37:10It's as simple as that.
37:11I'm not going to think too much into it.
37:13Sorry.
37:15Happy birthday, Mr. President.
37:19Anyone for fun?
37:21We're trying to have some fun here and it just got a bit heavy,
37:23which is why I came in with the Marilyn Monroe,
37:25because, I mean, you know, lighten up.
37:27Let's have a bit of fun.
37:28This is what I'm thinking.
37:29Sharon?
37:30No.
37:31Sharon.
37:32Let's get the main out, shall we?
37:34Is this it?
37:35It's perfect.
37:36Here it is, Cornish Place with cauliflower puree,
37:38lemon balm and courgettes.
37:43Thank you very much.
37:44You're welcome.
37:45So, here we have our Cornish Place with lashings of cauliflower puree.
37:50Please enjoy.
37:51Thank you very much.
37:57Chefy.
37:58No, the fish was cooked very excellent.
38:00I liked your little dig with cauliflower puree.
38:02That was funny.
38:04It wasn't meant to be offensive anyway.
38:05It's not offensive.
38:06It was just a bit of fun.
38:06Of course.
38:07And the fact that I love lashings.
38:09Lashings.
38:10I like the words.
38:11I love the lashings.
38:12It's a great word.
38:13Lashings.
38:14Oh, man, that is imprinted in here right now.
38:17Definitely, I think, was a dig.
38:19He did say it wasn't.
38:20No, it was a dig.
38:22Yeah, of course.
38:23Thought so.
38:23The lemon balm is quite strong and on the sweet side.
38:27The lemon thing is a bit overpowering for me.
38:30Yeah.
38:30There's a lot of citrus going on,
38:32so the citrus just literally took over me.
38:36The courgette's cooked really nicely.
38:38It's got a little bit of chew to it,
38:39a little bit of smokiness from the grill.
38:42I'm glad you picked up on that,
38:43because we've done it on our charcoal,
38:45the vegetables tonight.
38:47Zev really thinks about it.
38:48He's got a good palate on him,
38:50and I like the fact that he picked up on the smoky flavour,
38:52because no-one else did, neither of the chefs.
38:54I also like the fact that the fish was deboned as well.
38:57Anybody who's desperately looking for a minuscure bone?
39:02Anyone?
39:03No, painstakingly, I actually deboned it myself
39:06and got one of my commie chefs to double-check.
39:10No bones tonight, thank you.
39:15Oh.
39:18Very dense.
39:19You can cut it with a knife.
39:20You can cut it with a knife.
39:22I mean, it's why I didn't want to go too in.
39:26It was just going to set them off.
39:28The tough crowd that we have here tonight,
39:30our friends, really enjoyed that one.
39:32You know, they were super complimentary.
39:34Yeah.
39:35Really...
39:35Melting in the mouth.
39:36Lovely about the food.
39:38Great!
39:38Better get the dessert out, then.
39:41100%, this dish is a winner.
39:44And even if they want to criticise it, they can't!
39:48Mmm, I'm not so sure about that.
39:52Souffles ready?
39:54And lift them on.
39:55Sharon, go and wow our friends and customers.
39:58That looks amazing.
39:59The final course of the week, raspberry souffle with roasted peaches,
40:04vanilla ice cream and raspberries.
40:08Here we have our showstopper.
40:10Enjoy your pudding.
40:11Enjoy.
40:15Please.
40:16I'll let Raheem go first.
40:18Nicely dodged.
40:19Could have got his name right there.
40:20Yeah.
40:21I guess the flavours are there.
40:24From the raspberry flavours that we have in there.
40:29Um...
40:30It's...
40:31Spit it out, Raheem!
40:33It's, for me, it's...
40:36Um...
40:36Sweet enough.
40:37But that's good that you should huggle into criticise,
40:40so enjoy the rest.
40:41Yeah.
40:44Wasn't a winner for me.
40:45After having the delicate starter, delicate main,
40:48to then go into something that was that sweet,
40:50it kind of was kind of delicate, delicate,
40:52really, really overpowering.
40:54Is the peach fresh or is it tinned?
40:55Fresh.
40:56Tinned.
40:57Do me a favour.
40:58HE LAUGHS
40:59The peach.
41:00Nice.
41:01I don't know whether or not it could be...
41:03Because of the...the...the process,
41:05but I would have performed it, um, much warmer.
41:08It was a little bit warm, but not warm enough.
41:10But I don't know if that's...
41:13The thing.
41:15Yeah, we've got the warm in the souffle.
41:17Yeah.
41:17I don't think Stephen appreciated it when I said the peach was...
41:21In my opinion, it should have been warm.
41:23Small, minor thing, but yeah.
41:26Taking on board.
41:27Yeah.
41:29There was a comment that the peach wasn't hot,
41:32because it was meant to be roasted.
41:33But, you know, it was pre-roasted.
41:35It was room temperature, you serve it with ice cream,
41:37and the hot is the souffle, so you got hot and cold.
41:39I kind of didn't understand the concept
41:43between the fish at the beginning,
41:45fish in the middle, and then coming in with that dessert.
41:47It just all didn't marry it.
41:49I think...I think there's some people
41:51who had never had souffle before.
41:53Maybe it was in their bag.
41:54I thought it was a stunning dish.
41:55Yeah, of course it is.
41:56I love the peach.
41:56I'm going for years.
41:58With dessert done,
41:59there's still one last chance
42:00to change the mood of the evening.
42:02Sam?
42:03I'm talking about age here.
42:05There's no, say,
42:06between younger guys growing up.
42:08There's no sort of...
42:09I know from older chefs there,
42:11sometimes there can be a bit hard feeling
42:13towards the younger guys.
42:15Oh, God, no.
42:15Is that where you're going with this?
42:16No, no, no, no, no.
42:18There's no insult here.
42:19Couldn't care less, quite frankly.
42:20I'm not even interested, honestly.
42:23Yeah.
42:23You know, if I go somewhere and he's young
42:25or he's 105, I don't care.
42:28Well, that seemed to go well.
42:29I think there's a lot of tension in the air.
42:32I don't know whether it was because of the last night...
42:34No, it didn't get me roughly.
42:35It just went over my head.
42:36I sort of lost interest after a while, sadly.
42:38So, who thinks they're going to win?
42:40This evening the food, in our opinion,
42:42was just perfect.
42:44Perfect three courses.
42:45Wouldn't have changed any of it, would you?
42:48No, of course not.
42:49It was a really strong menu, really well presented.
42:53The service was really good and very professional.
42:55And so, you know, I think they're in with a chance
42:57and we'll see where we are shortly.
43:00Pole position, innit?
43:01Pole position.
43:02Still funny.
43:02We might get taken over right at the end.
43:04I think that's a great analogy.
43:06Mario Kart, you're going through, you hit that,
43:09someone hits you with that red turtle
43:10and they just go flying by and you're like, argh!
43:13Well, Luscombs could be that red turtle if they score 30 or more.
43:17Let's go to the scores.
43:18So, tonight we had a good experience.
43:20Steve and Shannon was a very good host,
43:23but there's a few things we didn't enjoy,
43:24so for that reason we're going to score them a 14.
43:27The food didn't hit the mark.
43:29There was a huge amount of tension in there,
43:31so tonight's score is going to be a...
43:32Hold it right there!
43:34Time to reveal the winning restaurant.
43:40In third place, Luscombs.
43:45Woo!
43:47Rehan and Asad did not hold back and scored Luscombs a nine.
43:52Ouch!
43:53It was just too tense here.
43:54It was too tense here, yeah.
43:56I think we felt it from the very start
43:57and as it got more and more into the night,
44:00it just got more and more tense.
44:01In second place...
44:05The Old Crown.
44:07Yay!
44:09So, in first place, the Suti Maman.
44:16We did mess up our night a little bit
44:18and normally it would never happen,
44:20but it happens and we still came seconds.
44:26I was a little surprised, to be fair.
44:30I thought we did everything right,
44:31but, you know, our sort of quality food isn't for everyone.
44:36It's as simple as that.
44:38Cheers, everybody.
44:38Cheers!
44:40Pole position.
44:41I told you.
44:42From the start, pole position.
44:44Did I waver?
44:45Did I stutter?
44:46No!
44:47Money!
44:48Are we like you.
44:51I can't be sure.
44:54I can't be sure.
44:55I'll be sick.
44:56As she turns.
44:58We are strange in our hearts,
45:00but we are young.
45:02We run green.
45:04Keep our team nice and clean.
45:07See our brains, see the sights,
45:10feel alright.
Comments