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00:04There's a traitor amongst you. I know it.
00:08Thomas of Carriage, Lady of McNeigh, the eyes of history are upon us today.
00:12I implore you both to vote with your conscience for our decisions today
00:16will mark the fortunes and the future of this great realm.
00:19Mate, the food's coming. Are you alright?
00:22Yeah, I'm just doing the whole historical fiction thing.
00:25Why don't you take a seat?
00:26I shall take a seat in this throne.
00:28Today, the two best chefs from Central and the East of England
00:32will battle for a place at finals.
00:34Adopted Brummie Ash and Nikita from Derby have some award-winning flourishes,
00:39but which of these stars will be victorious?
00:43Two chefs still standing and it's too close to call.
00:46Oh, it's going to be like that all day. Yeah, I know.
00:49Both are award-winning, wildly creative, technically brilliant
00:53and exquisitely talented.
00:55Oh, my days.
00:56Ash has made her home in Birmingham where she's owner and chef of Riverine Rabbit.
01:02I think it would be really silly to go into today feeling confident.
01:06I think like a healthy dose of fear is perfect.
01:10And Nikita is from Derby and works as a private chef.
01:13I'm not going to stop running.
01:16I've just got enough adrenaline left in me to take me through because Ash is fierce.
01:22Their movie-themed dishes have already been scored out of ten by mentor chef Spencer Metzger and Tom Shepard.
01:29Nikita's fish course stunned Spencer.
01:32This is my first ever ten and a dish like that deserves it every single day of the week.
01:37But Ash's scores just got better and better across the courses, peaking with a show-stopping dessert.
01:43Ten.
01:44There is nothing more I can add to this dish to make it any better.
01:48There's barely a hair's breadth between them.
01:52I've got to change my pan straight after this.
01:54Which chef will pull ahead and impress Tom, Lorna and new judge Phil Wang, as well as one of the
02:00movie industry's top producers,
02:02and take one step closer to cooking at the banquet.
02:06This is wild. It's like being on a roller coaster.
02:10And I don't like roller coasters.
02:28First job is fish sauce and pork sauce.
02:30My brioche is mixing now.
02:32I just have to cook my heart out and hope that I can get those extra points that I need.
02:40I'm going to get this duck on the go mate, taking the legs off, getting them in the confit.
02:44I'm taking the bones, roasting them on the barbecue and then starting my jus gras.
02:48And then I'm getting on to my squash straight away.
02:50I'm going to be a blur the whole day to try and catch me.
02:55Hello. Hello.
02:56I love that you're so busy already.
02:59How are you feeling Nikita?
03:01I'm feeling good.
03:02Ready for battle?
03:03Yeah, I was like really freaking out last night.
03:05Yes.
03:06But I made a prep list.
03:07How about you Ash?
03:08You got a list?
03:09I was up quite late doing my long, very long prep list.
03:12I would love to keep both of you obviously.
03:14Yeah, we'd love to keep both of us as well.
03:16It's dressing me out already.
03:17I know.
03:17I was just like, ah!
03:18But you're both so brilliant.
03:20May the road rise with you.
03:23I like a bit of fish butchery.
03:25I prefer it when I like a bit calmer.
03:28Nikita fillets then brines halibut for her fish course.
03:3320 minutes.
03:34The slate is wiped clean and only the judges' scores today will count.
03:40Ash is gunning for those extra points by tweaking her squash starter.
03:44Last time I cooked all my squash exactly the same.
03:49Today I'm changing it up.
03:50I'm cooking in the Delica the same.
03:52Finishing on a barbecue.
03:53And now I'm making a puree with the crown prince.
03:56And I'm going to pickle up some red curry.
04:00Scrutinising the chef's dishes is head judge Tom Kerridge,
04:04whose credentials speak for themselves.
04:06Double banquet main course winner and holder of a total of three Michelin stars.
04:12What I'm looking for is really, really good quality incredible chefs
04:17that come from this region cooking with heart and soul.
04:20And it's got a great history.
04:21I mean we've had many central and east of England competitors
04:24that get all the way to the banquet before in Great British Menu.
04:27Joining him is Lorna McNee, not just a stellar chef
04:31but the first woman to hold a Michelin star in Scotland.
04:35The central and east of England is always a strong region
04:38so I'm really looking forward to what they're bringing us today.
04:40In fact, the beginning of the end has caught my eye.
04:43Sounds like it's going to be chocolatey rich and it's going to kill me very happily.
04:47And our brand new judge, a greedy gut so keen to secure the most food focused job on TV
04:53that he wrestled Ed Gamble for it.
04:55It's comedian Phil Wang.
04:58Phil Wang here with your weekly food forecast.
05:02We have mussels coming in from Scotland, beef coming in from Northern Ireland.
05:08In Wales we have a 90% chance of lamb.
05:12Sorry, 100%.
05:13In London we have high pressure, just high pressure, quite difficult living there.
05:18In the central region, there's a big region, big flavours, big portions hopefully.
05:24Back to you in the studio.
05:27Ash sweats down Crown Prince squash in vegan butter for a puree.
05:35I'm just going to pickle up my red curry quick.
05:37This is wild.
05:39I've never experienced anything like this.
05:41I know.
05:42It's like being on a roller coaster.
05:43I know and I don't like roller coasters.
05:46I like it at all.
05:47I need nutmeg.
05:49I'm going to up the flavour in this one.
05:51Nikita's onto a potato foam for her starter.
05:54It's not so much different as it is more of things.
06:00It's been exciting, Tom, this week.
06:02I have witnessed some of the best cooking I've seen at Great British Menu.
06:05That's a hill I'm prepared to die on, Tom Kerridge.
06:08Mate, that is a statement.
06:10We had two veterans in this week, Spencer Metzger and Tom Sheppard.
06:13Two of the most recent winners, but arguably also two of the best chefs
06:17to have come out of that Great British Menu kitchen.
06:19Yes, both of them gave their first ten.
06:21Oh, my God, this is going to be great.
06:22So, we've got a new palette in the chamber this year in the shape of...
06:27I love Phil Wang.
06:28In the shape of a Phil Wang.
06:29In the shape of a Phil Wang.
06:31Yeah, yeah.
06:31A Phil Wang.
06:32He's brilliant and he's very hungry.
06:35He is.
06:35And his love of food is massive.
06:38And he's also there to ask the questions of me and Lorna
06:40about how they made it.
06:41Probably more important, Lorna.
06:43Yes.
06:46Nikita laminates her brioche dough.
06:49Then preps a pork tomahawk for her mane.
06:52I just want to make sure there's not too much excess fat.
06:56Like, we want some for flavour.
06:58Hopefully I'll cook the chop correctly this time.
07:01Gorgeous, eh?
07:02You are loved.
07:04Ash's monkfish will cook low and slow on the barbecue.
07:08The beauty of this is I can take it off, let it chill out, put it back on, take it
07:12off.
07:13She'll baste until service with a caramel fish sauce.
07:16You've had your barbecue there all week.
07:18Look, I am South African.
07:20It's a past time of ours.
07:23Good morning.
07:24I'm trying to work out why you're walking so slowly.
07:27Not allowed to move the fringe in.
07:28Phil walks really slow.
07:29You were worried if you walked any quicker it would, like, blow it out of the way.
07:32Like your head out of a car window.
07:34That's the one.
07:34Welcome to the judging chamber, Phil.
07:36It's lovely to be here, Tom.
07:37What an honour.
07:38Obviously, both of you have dedicated your lives to perfecting your skills in the kitchen.
07:43I've dedicated my life to perfecting my skills at the dining table.
07:46I've been chatting to Andy.
07:48She has been blown away by the level and the quality of the food.
07:52It's always quite strong in the central region, isn't it?
07:54Really looking forward to it, actually.
07:55I think we are in for a very, very good week.
08:02Spencer had some critiques about my starter.
08:04My crumble was a bit sandy.
08:06I've roasted some pumpkin seeds.
08:08I don't know why I didn't think of that before.
08:09It's literally a squash dish.
08:10I'm going to incorporate some more of that base crumb into it.
08:13A little bit of maple syrup to sweeten it.
08:16Nikita strains her fish head curry inspired sauce.
08:20The juice of the aubergine and the okra that's cooked in it, I want that all in the sauce.
08:24To elevate it, I cook it separately.
08:26But I still want the flavour infused through it.
08:30Her longest process is the onion brioche for her starter.
08:34I just need to get it in to prove, like, yesterday.
08:38Like, literally?
08:39Literally yesterday, yeah.
08:40That would have been good.
08:43Oh, it smells great in here already.
08:45How are you going on, chefs?
08:46Are you feeling good?
08:47Feeling lots of things.
08:48I've come to talk to you about your canapé.
08:50It's your calling card.
08:51You want to start as you mean to go on.
08:55So, make sure you execute, execute, execute.
08:57The chefs now focus on their first course, which, like all the courses, will be judged blind.
09:03Yours is nice and easy, actually, isn't it?
09:06It's very complex, actually.
09:07To play, I mean.
09:08In flavour.
09:08It's very complex in flavour.
09:10In flavour.
09:10Yeah, yeah.
09:11You were smart.
09:13I was not.
09:15Helping the judges score the dishes is an acclaimed film producer, BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee, Alison Owen.
09:23Hi.
09:24Hi there.
09:25Good morning.
09:26Saving Mr Banks, Elizabeth and Shaun of the Dead are amongst her extensive list of box office hits.
09:32How are you?
09:33I'm good, thanks.
09:34Do you love food?
09:34That's got to be the first question.
09:36I am your girl for the food.
09:39What do you like?
09:39I'm definitely Natalophile.
09:41And British food.
09:42I do like good British food done well.
09:43Well, you're on the right show for that.
09:44Today should be a wonderful journey.
09:46We've got chefs from the central and the east of England that are cooking fantastic dishes.
09:50So, you should be in for a super treat.
09:53Can't wait.
09:54Alison, you're a film producer, highly celebrated, BAFTA winning.
09:58What would you say is a producer's role in the film making process?
10:02Different producers specialise in different things.
10:04Like some producers are real money people.
10:06Some people are more creative.
10:07I think I span pretty much everything.
10:10I definitely like self-generate things.
10:12So, I'll read a book or an article in a newspaper or hear an idea and think, yeah, that'll make
10:17a good movie.
10:18So, then it's my job to kind of get that show on the road.
10:21How long does it normally take then from a project, from your original idea from start to a movie being
10:27made
10:27and then released?
10:28I would say the shortest is probably about two years.
10:31Right.
10:31But it can often take people, you know, nine or ten years.
10:34It's not just like a bit of a whim that something that happens.
10:37It is completely committed to something that takes so long.
10:40Yes, you sort of learn that actually.
10:41As a young producer, sometimes you take things on as a bit of a whim and think,
10:44oh, I'll try that out.
10:46And then three years down the road, you'll think, I should have talked more carefully about this.
10:55Nikita's tartlets are baked and Ash's venison tartare is mixed with fava bean miso, aged soy and chives.
11:04You have six minutes to the pass, Chef.
11:07Yes, Chef.
11:08Six minutes for your canapé.
11:09Is everything behaving so far?
11:11Mostly.
11:12The tarts are filled with chicken liver parfait, as Ash wraps venison tartare in shiso leaves.
11:20What is that second thing that goes on the parfait, Nikita?
11:23It's a sherry vinegar reduction.
11:26Topped with chicken skin, dusted with chat masala and surrounded by apple pearls.
11:31People keep trying to tell me that it's just like service.
11:33Not one similarity whatsoever.
11:35Two minutes now, Chefs.
11:37Two minutes.
11:37Got it.
11:37I actually think I'm going to be a bit early.
11:39I'm ready when you are.
11:40Let me know.
11:41Nikita finishes with thyme flowers.
11:44Oh, this is so hard when you're shaking.
11:48Ready.
11:53Would you like to send your first course?
11:56Yeah.
11:56Thank you very much.
12:04Hello.
12:07Wow.
12:10To start, we have chicken liver parfait tartlet, chat masala, green apple and sherry vinegar.
12:16Mmm.
12:21Crunchy, sweet, savoury.
12:23It's got a bit of every kind of sensual kick, hasn't it?
12:26Yeah, I loved that.
12:27That was really, really well-balanced, fantastic start.
12:29Gets you excited.
12:30It's like a preview of every flavour that's about to come.
12:33It just ticked every box, but it didn't make me go, that's amazing.
12:38It just worked.
12:39I feel like my mouth stole water from it.
12:40I thought Tom described it exactly right.
12:42It's like it had a little bit of everything, but it didn't quite crescendo.
12:46It was a little bit like what I just said about my own job.
12:48It was Jack of all trades.
12:50Next up, we have diced venison loin with fava bean miso, black vinegar and aged soy dressing,
12:56wrapped in a purple shisho leaf.
12:58That looks amazing.
13:05See, now that doesn't tick every box, and although it lacks texture and crunch,
13:10it makes up for everything else in big, punchy flavour.
13:12It's very fresh.
13:14Mmm.
13:14For being something that'd be quite rich with that, you know, diced venison loin and stuff like that.
13:18I thought maybe the miso flavour could come out a little more.
13:21It did its very single thing, which is being very meaty, and so it did what it said on the
13:25tin.
13:25But, um, yeah, I wouldn't be reaching for a second bite.
13:29Lift up which one we think's the best.
13:32Ah!
13:37Absolutely knackered.
13:38Yeah, I know, right?
13:40That's a 3-1 victory to Nikita.
13:42Next up, the starters.
13:44Ooh!
13:45Ash will serve first.
13:47Squashies are done.
13:48I'm going to rest them so they, like, firm up a little bit.
13:51Barbecue them at the last second.
13:53Well, everything's happening at the last second.
13:54OK, the first of our two starters coming our way, which are both plant-based, is called Elevation.
14:01Slow-cooked and barbecued Delica Squash, Puree of Crime Prince Squash and pickled Red Curie Squash.
14:08Vadovan Vellute, pickled shallots and a British grain and pumpkin seed crumble.
14:14And this dish celebrates Birmingham-born screenwriter, producer and director Stephen Knight.
14:19Famous for his cinematic celebration of Brummie characters from humble beginnings on the streets of Birmingham.
14:27I want the squash to be the hero.
14:30Of course, I've already got the Vadovan that's got, like, 14 different spices in it.
14:35Ash blends crown print squash.
14:37It's one, like, a nice, really silky texture that bolsters the squash taste, basically.
14:43I'm going to leave that for a minute.
14:46Hey, Chef.
14:47Hi, Andy.
14:48What was your feedback from Spencer? You got a seven.
14:50Kicking myself that I didn't think of it before.
14:52Um, so I cooked my three squash all the same way.
14:55Yes.
14:55This time, I'm going to be more dynamic. I'm cooking one squash the same way I did.
15:00Yep.
15:00Another's going to be pickled and nice and crunchy.
15:02Yes.
15:02And the other one is, uh, squash cream.
15:04Yes.
15:04He loved the sauce. I'm keeping that.
15:07She checks pickled Red Curie Squash.
15:10I'm really happy with that.
15:11I wanted to have, like, a nice bite too.
15:13Pickly, cos that's Spencer noted, like, could have been more pickly vibes.
15:17I'm hoping he really packs a punch in that flavour, cos I just find squash can be a little bit
15:21flat sometimes.
15:21If it's clever and put together well with lots of other flavours added to it, if the chef can enhance
15:28humble ingredients like the theme.
15:31Alison, are you familiar with Stephen Knight's work?
15:33I am indeed. Stephen has become very well known for, as Tom just said about the squash, elevating humble ingredients
15:40into something really special.
15:42And he's a fantastic storyteller.
15:45Just breaking up these pumpkin seeds.
15:47Just kind of, like, give it a little bit of more pumpkin flavour, nuttiness, like, less sand flavour, apparently.
15:55You have five minutes to the past, Chef. How are you feeling?
15:58Thank you. I'm good, thank you.
16:00First, roasted, delicate squash.
16:02New squashies all looking very cared for.
16:05Let me know if you need anything, mate.
16:07Thanks, mate. I'm all good.
16:09Gently curried vadovan sauce.
16:11Lovely.
16:12It's got a bit more air in it, Andy.
16:14Right.
16:15Can you roll these up?
16:16Yeah.
16:17Just have a look at what, like that?
16:19Yeah, sound.
16:19That looks amazing.
16:20Those little rolls, is that the new pickle squash?
16:22That's the grid curry chef.
16:24Pumpkin seeds and British grains crumble.
16:27Pureed crown prince squash.
16:30Isn't it interesting?
16:30It looks more fulsome, doesn't it?
16:32Yeah, and it's got so much more, you know, like, height differences.
16:36With fried curry leaves and pickled shallots.
16:40That's time, thank you, Ash.
16:42Coming up.
16:43Bang on time.
16:45Ooh.
16:45Does look a lot nicer, doesn't it?
16:46Look at that.
16:47Looks all right.
16:48Thank you very much.
16:49Appreciate it.
16:55All the changes look amazing.
16:56Yeah, I'm very stoked.
17:15Not worried about flavour any more, are you, mate?
17:17No, definitely not.
17:19No.
17:19But proper comes through.
17:21Loads of different exciting flavours that are hitting my mouth in there.
17:24There's spice, there's acidity, there's a lovely little crumb kind of texture.
17:28But the one thing that I really love is the actual big chunk of roasted squash.
17:32It's delicious.
17:33It's really delicious and so comforting.
17:36It feels like a real comfort food.
17:37Yeah.
17:38Very warming and hugging, isn't it?
17:39Having attention to texture is really clever as well, with the seeds and the curry leaf
17:44and the pickle on top.
17:45The nuttiness from the pumpkin seeds is really good as well.
17:48I think it's absolutely delicious.
17:50I'm having difficulty stopping to talk.
17:53It's beautifully done.
17:55Super delicious.
17:56It's taken humble ingredients and made them very, very exciting.
17:59It's humble, but it's light, it's warming, it's hugging.
18:03I think it kind of has everything that you would want.
18:05Good start, that.
18:06Mm-hm.
18:10Nikita's next, and it's the moment of truth for her onion brioche.
18:16Thank God for that.
18:17So, next dish up is Ploughing the Fields.
18:20It is Jerusalem artichoke and caramel puree topped with pickled turnip
18:24and roasted Jerusalem artichoke, sourdough croutons and potato foam.
18:29Served with a laminated onion brioche glazed in yeast extract and maple syrup.
18:34This dish celebrates War Horse as the lead actor, Jeremy Irvin, was born in Cambridgeshire.
18:39In the film, he trains the horse to plough the land for the turnips,
18:42so this dish heroes root vegetables.
18:45You started off with a seven for your starter.
18:48What did Spencer make of it all?
18:49So, he loved the bread but thought it could do with the glaze,
18:51so I'm adding a yeast extract and maple glaze.
18:53Lovely.
18:53And then I'm toning down the sweetness a bit in the caramel,
18:56and I didn't want to change the potato because without practising it's too risky.
19:00Yes.
19:00So, I'm just upping the flavours in it, so more nutmeg, more pepper.
19:03So, pushing it so it's got a bit more body.
19:05Yeah, a bit more set powder, exactly, yeah.
19:06Laminated onion brioche.
19:08You haven't even got to say what it's glazed in.
19:09That's already got me going, yeah, thank you very much.
19:12I'll have that.
19:12Again, it looks like quite a warming dish, quite a comforting dish.
19:15Root vegetables really suck you back into where food comes from,
19:19and if the chef can get this right, served with a bit of brioche, sounds great.
19:25She prepares pickled turnips and aerates potato foam.
19:30This was such a good bit of advice.
19:33And she adds a maple syrup and yeast extract glaze to the brioche.
19:38Ooh, look at the bread.
19:40Really happy with the glaze on that.
19:41Really, don't they? Super spence.
19:43Alison, how did you get into the film production industry?
19:46I sort of left college at just the right time,
19:49when the film industry was sort of exploding in the early 80s.
19:52So, when I left college, I sort of hustled around and I got a job
19:55working in music videos.
19:57Very quickly worked up to producing them,
19:59and from there, I was able to start talking to directors and agents
20:03and developing film scripts.
20:05And, of course, your first big hit was Elizabeth with the Cate Blanchard.
20:09Is this something that draws you to that historical genre?
20:13I love historical films, and I like them when they're about real people,
20:15like Elizabeth, and I like them when they're fictional.
20:17People always say, is it a real buzz when the film's released?
20:19But for me, the buzz always comes on the very first day of filming.
20:23When it's a historical film, it's the nearest you'll ever get
20:25to go back in a time machine.
20:27You have five minutes, Nikita.
20:29How are you feeling?
20:30Good.
20:31Caramelised Jerusalem artichoke puree is first.
20:36Roasted artichokes.
20:38Next, pickled turnips.
20:40Are they the little croutons?
20:42Yeah, I want to be generous with them,
20:44because they're just such a good crunch.
20:46I just need to foam and dust.
20:47Just watch you do it, then.
20:48Yeah, just stand here and look pretty.
20:50How's that foam, Nikita?
20:52You happier with it?
20:52I am.
20:53It's got a bit more body and, yeah, more flavour.
20:56What are you dusting it with?
20:57Setup powder.
20:58Oh, nice.
21:03Lovely.
21:04You're one minute early, Nikita.
21:08Service, please.
21:23I'm finding this very, very exciting, because I already liked the sound of the caramel puree
21:27and the maple syrup and this looks just like a little cinnamon bun.
21:31And this looks like a real patch of grass.
21:33This is awesome.
21:34Yeah.
21:44The brioche, the intricacy, the work that's gone into that, the texture on the outside,
21:49the crunch is fantastic.
21:52You could have just served me that, and it's a great, great, great starter.
21:56It's absolutely delicious.
21:58I love this so much.
21:59There's so many different elements that all come through, but all sing together.
22:03Really, really warming.
22:05Makes me smile.
22:06Yeah, it's a real triumph.
22:07I don't think I can fault it.
22:08I disagree slightly.
22:10I think the onion brioche is really good, and as you said,
22:12really nice crunch on the outside and the soft inside, I think is really, really good.
22:16I'm not a fan of the pot on the side.
22:18I like the textures.
22:20I don't think there's enough acidity.
22:21It all depends on where you aim your spoon,
22:23because you can get one mouthful that's very different to another mouthful
22:27if you don't get the bit of crunch.
22:29I've got a couple of spoonfuls that are too rooty and too leaden.
22:32I find that potato foam really gloopy and really sticking to my lips,
22:36and I don't like the texture of it.
22:37If I had all of this as a starter, I'd need to go for a lie down
22:40before I even got to the main course.
22:41Yeah.
22:42Well, sadly, we've got fish, mains and dessert to go, yeah.
22:46No sleeping for you just yet.
22:52Fish is next.
22:53No time to stop, is there?
22:55It's just like...
22:55Next!
22:56Next!
22:57Ash continues to baste monkfish with caramel fish sauce
23:01and is taking a risk with one of her other elements.
23:04Yeah, I'm doing my sauce like an absolute ****.
23:08I'm doing it at the last second.
23:09It's nicer when it's just done, so keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
23:13Our first fish dish of the day is silver screen solstice.
23:18Barbecued monkfish, buttermilk beur blanc, spiked with green chilli and lime,
23:23black garlic oil, cauliflower and black garlic puree, and caviar to finish.
23:27Ooh la la.
23:28This dish honours the Electric Cinema in Birmingham.
23:31Until its closure in 2024, it was the oldest working cinema in the UK,
23:35first opening its doors in 1909.
23:38The monochromatic feel of this dish is mirrored in the decor of the Art Deco Cinema.
23:42Alison, have you ever been to the Electric Cinema in Birmingham?
23:45I have been to the Electric Cinema, and in fact we had a screening there once
23:48of a television film that I made in Birmingham,
23:51it's the only thing I've ever shot in Birmingham,
23:53which was called Toast, which was Nigel Slater's story.
23:58So you have good memories of the Electric Cinema?
23:59Yeah, really good memories, beautiful cinema, really beautiful.
24:01I didn't know it was closing, and that makes me quite sad.
24:04You got an eight for this delicious dish.
24:07What was Spencer's feedback for you?
24:09He did mention maybe adding another veggie element
24:12or something pickly to it.
24:13I'm not doing that.
24:14I'm sticking to my guns on this one.
24:16Stick to your guns.
24:16Yeah.
24:17Because that balance is really key actually.
24:19It's on a knife's edge.
24:20The fish is done.
24:22Carver, not at the last second, but towards the end of the last second.
24:26I'm going to heat this up really slowly.
24:28She warms cauliflower and black garlic puree.
24:31The worst thing that could happen to me is that it catches.
24:34Adds green chillies to the buttermilk beurre blanc.
24:36You know what?
24:37I think it's there.
24:38Before warming through and adding lime juice for acidity.
24:43Chef, you have five minutes to the pass.
24:45Yes, Chef.
24:47Ash's monkfish is rested and ready.
24:49You happy with the croissant?
24:51Yeah, I really stoked.
24:52I love how much you love your monkfish.
24:55Let's get this going.
24:57Did you make any changes to this one?
24:58No, you know what?
24:59I just stuck to my guns.
25:00I believe in it.
25:01That's the most important part.
25:03Cauliflower and black garlic puree is first.
25:05That puree looks so silky.
25:08Thanks.
25:09Buttermilk beurre blanc with green chillies and lime.
25:12This dish feels so luxurious to eat.
25:15Yeah, there's a touch of luxe, isn't it?
25:17One minute to the pass, Chef.
25:18Might just need one extra minute.
25:20I just want to be really careful, yeah?
25:21Get it absolutely right, definitely.
25:24Not stressful at all.
25:26Barbecued monkfish glazed in a caramel fish sauce.
25:30Oh, and then there's the caviar, of course.
25:32Lastly, black garlic oil.
25:34I didn't really want to offer to do this part, so...
25:37Yeah, I wouldn't have let you.
25:39Especially with your shaky little hands.
25:40Yeah.
25:41OK?
25:42OK, let's rock and roll, then.
25:45The dish is presented on film canisters.
25:49Mighty fine.
25:50As it sits is how the judge is going to receive it all right.
25:53Thank you very much.
26:09Wow.
26:09The black and white thing is really coming through, isn't it?
26:19I feel like there's lots of elements of flavour in there that want to come out, but I'm not really
26:23getting them.
26:24Yeah, I don't know really, it's just, it's not really speaking to me.
26:26Am I wrong?
26:27I mean, the word on there, it says spiked with green chilli and lime.
26:30And there's a spike, there's a little punch, there's a little jab of that kind of heat that comes through
26:36that raw green chilli kit.
26:38I love the sauce.
26:38I think the sauce is the best thing about the dish.
26:40It's fantastic.
26:41The sauce, I also think is absolutely amazing.
26:44I really, really like it.
26:45As you said, it says spiked and it's exactly what it is.
26:48It's really nice.
26:49How fascinating.
26:50Yeah.
26:51I thought the sauce was exquisite.
26:52I found the pure egg a little bit too much because it felt a bit intrusive.
26:58My issue is probably the barbecued monkfish.
27:00Mine is slightly overcooked, it's not hot enough and it hasn't got enough barbecue flavour.
27:05I agree.
27:05I got a couple of really nice bits of barbecued monkfish that the flavour came through, but other than that,
27:10it was overcooked.
27:12But monkfish is hard to get right because it's such a meaty fish.
27:15If you go a little bit that way or a little bit that way, it's wrong.
27:17This is just a tad too overdone, I think.
27:21The appearance is fantastic.
27:23The black and white look, I thought was really well achieved.
27:26In terms of sticking to the brief, I don't think you can do much better than that.
27:29I genuinely believe this is a great dish in the making.
27:32The first edit of something fantastic.
27:37Nikita adds fermented chilli sambal paste to cucumber, green mango and shallots.
27:43This was a bit I was most worried about because it's fiery, like properly fiery.
27:48I don't know how Lorna is with spice.
27:53Spicey.
27:55Have you noticed I hate stopping?
27:57All chefs hate stopping, don't they?
28:00Nikita's next with her dish, Draft of Living Death, inspired by Jim Broadbent, who plays Professor Sloghorn in the Harry
28:08Potter films.
28:10It is a pan fried halibut with fish head inspired curry sauce, garnished with fried okra and baby aubergines, served
28:18with a cucumber and raw mango sambal salad and stuffed chilli and with liquid luck, a lime leaf oil.
28:27These are my chillies for my fish dish and I'll stuff them with the coconut filling and then batter and
28:34fry them.
28:36And what is your score for this Nikita?
28:37I scored a 10 for this.
28:38The first 10 that Spencer Metzger has ever given out on a British menu.
28:42That's, yeah.
28:43Are you making any changes?
28:45I am not making any changes.
28:47Good.
28:47So execute, execute.
28:49Another 10, thank you.
28:50That would be nice.
28:52Okra is deep fried to give the dish texture.
28:56We are, in our cooking styles, pretty polar opposite.
29:00Yeah.
29:01Filleted halibut is fried in butter and curry leaves.
29:04Mmm.
29:05Smells so good.
29:07Fried okra and aubergine are first.
29:11Next, pan fried halibut.
29:13Ooh la la.
29:14Micro purple shiso leaves.
29:16You've got nine minutes, chef, but you're looking...
29:19I'm gonna be early.
29:21Fried chilli stuffed with coconut potato and spices, top sambal.
29:27Say when?
29:28Like there.
29:29And fish head curry sauce is bottled.
29:37Send it, chef.
29:38Service, please.
29:39Say the word.
29:49All of it, yeah.
29:50Mmm.
29:51This is a bit scary.
29:52Ah!
30:01It's spicy.
30:02But I likey.
30:04It's like, it's hot.
30:06But I love it.
30:07That sauce.
30:08Oh, I love that sauce.
30:10Guys.
30:11I think the fish is perfectly cooked.
30:14The halibut is exquisite.
30:15It's really delicious.
30:16I love halibut.
30:17Anyway, it's probably my favourite fish.
30:18And this has really done well.
30:19My halibut actually was a little bit overcooked, I think, because it sits there with the lid on.
30:23I think the flavours are great.
30:24I do think that the heat is maybe ever so high if you eat a lot of the sambal and
30:30a lot of the stuffed chilli.
30:31The chilli's a little bit too hot for me, but kind of delicious.
30:34So, yum.
30:35I really like it.
30:36I think it's really good.
30:36I think when you get everything together, I think it balances everything really well.
30:40It doesn't quite work as a complete dish just yet for me.
30:44But that might be my fault, because I didn't put all the things together properly.
30:47No, I mean, I sort of admired the ambition of the theatricality.
30:50But if it's a performance, I want to watch the performance and not feel that I have to participate in
30:55it and try and get it right.
30:56Are you done like audience participation?
31:03Nikita will serve her main course first.
31:07Oh, my days.
31:09She sears pork chops, adding butter and curry leaves, a stage she missed out when she last cooked it for
31:15Tom Shepard.
31:16That is just the love. I didn't get to give it yesterday.
31:20I'm so happy I get to give it to it today.
31:24It's in. I've given it the love.
31:26Hello, darlings.
31:27Hello, Andy.
31:28Hello.
31:28Hello, Miss Alison Owen.
31:30Hello, Miss Andy Oliver.
31:31Welcome.
31:31Welcome.
31:32Hello.
31:33Still got a tingling in my mouth of heat and chilli and warmth.
31:37A little dancey palate.
31:38Some really interesting and delicious food.
31:41Very, very good morning.
31:42Interesting detail in these dishes, Lorna.
31:44You can really see the personalities of the chefs coming through on them and just certain little notes of ingredients
31:48that really help enhance everything and have that flavour throughout.
31:52I think it's really interesting.
31:53And how are you feeling, Mr Wang?
31:54That chilli is riding really nice in my mouth right now.
31:57I'm feeling very happy.
31:59A lot of boldness in the choices being made.
32:01I think it's a really, really good week.
32:03Alison, how do you feel the chefs are connecting to these stories they're trying to tell?
32:06Yes, it's funny.
32:07You can actually see the comparison between dishes and drama films.
32:12Some of the dishes are more like an ensemble movie where every ingredient is working together with the others to
32:17create the whole and others are much more like a great starring vehicle where one performance is taking over the
32:23dish.
32:23What makes you choose a script?
32:24What makes you choose a script?
32:25I always choose a script if it really speaks to me personally.
32:28If it comes to fruition, it's something that I would go across the street and pay money to watch.
32:32Yes, it's about just making you feel something. God damn it. God damn it!
32:37These dishes are definitely making me feel something, Tom. I'm really excited by these chefs.
32:41From the canapes onwards, it's been, you know, great cooking, good ingredients, big flavours, super excited for the afternoon.
32:48Before Ash gets on with her main course, she rushes to set tempered chocolate for her dessert.
32:55Be very gentle and don't rush it.
32:57Messy job this.
33:00Time will tell.
33:04Onto her main course and Ash refines duck fat, jus gras sauce.
33:09It's basically there. I'm adjusting the seasoning now.
33:14Nikita's centrepiece, a braised pork cheek pie with chak masala, comes out of the oven to rest.
33:20Almost dropped my pie, Ash.
33:23Almost, but didn't.
33:24Ash's first heart attack today.
33:26Hey, Chef. Hiya.
33:28It's the big one.
33:29Yeah.
33:30How much did you score for this?
33:31I scored an eight.
33:32An eight for dinner at Pemberley.
33:34The best part of the feedback is that he said it had a ten in it.
33:37Yes.
33:37My pie was a bit wet.
33:39I've tightened up that mixture.
33:40Yep.
33:40Still keeping the flavour.
33:42And then I just need to cook my pork correctly.
33:45You just need to cook your pork right.
33:46And that's it.
33:46And I've cooked pork a billion times.
33:48And they've been perfect.
33:49I can do it.
33:49Of course you can do it.
33:50Our first main course today is called Dinner at Pemberley.
33:54And it's a roasted pork tomahawk, barbecue pork belly, pork cheek pie, sweet corn chef dough,
34:01spiced carrots, cabbage, potato petit, green chutney, served with a pork and Madeira sauce.
34:08And this is supposed to be a romantic dinner celebrating period drama Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew
34:14McFadden.
34:15The iconic house of Mr. Darcy Pemberley house was filmed at Chatsworth house in Derbyshire.
34:20Love a bit of pork.
34:22Me too.
34:23That sounds like a lot of pork is coming our way.
34:25Right up my street.
34:26This is literally a cheeky pie.
34:27A cheeky pie.
34:31This is the carrot masala.
34:33Yum.
34:33That just needs to go in the oven.
34:34She fries sweet corn and potato pettis.
34:38It's nice and crispy.
34:40And carves her rested pork chop.
34:42Hey.
34:43I cooked the pork nicely.
34:48All right.
34:49It's the big one.
34:51That was scary.
34:52Potato pettis, masala carrots and hispi cabbage are dished up.
34:57Five minutes to the past chef.
34:59Oui.
34:59How's your pork?
35:00Pork is perfectly cooked.
35:02Yes.
35:02First green chutney, sweet corn chef dough topped with fried curry leaves.
35:08Can you get that sauce boiling?
35:10Yeah.
35:11And then you know.
35:12I know the drill.
35:14Next, slices of barbecued pork belly and pork chop.
35:19Ready to go.
35:23Oh, it looks great.
35:24Look at that.
35:25Finally, a pork and Madeira sauce.
35:29OK.
35:30Service, please.
35:31Come and grab the tool.
35:32Oh!
35:34It's about to say.
35:35Oh, my goodness.
35:36The pie.
35:37That would have been so funny.
35:42In through the nose.
35:58We're just going to have to go messy, I'm afraid, guys.
36:07Tomahawk's perfectly cooked with a bit of pinkness going through it.
36:10So tasty, so flavourful.
36:12I'll tell you what my favourite part is, is the pork belly.
36:14I think it's very, very good.
36:15I love the seasoning on the outside.
36:16It's got a nice saltiness to it.
36:17The texture of it's perfect.
36:19I love the spicing on the carrots, the kind of freshness that the chutney brings and the
36:23cabbage as well.
36:25I'm not overly keen on the potato.
36:27I love the South Asian flavours that run through the whole thing.
36:31It's subtle, but it really, really works.
36:32It's a really wonderful, beautiful take on a roast pork and a pork pie.
36:37Downfall is that when you're cutting the pie, that it is a bit of a mess.
36:40And I think it would be very difficult at a banquet to give everyone their fair share
36:42of pie.
36:43But as far as the pork goes, it's delicious.
36:46You've got classic flavours.
36:47You've got cabbage, carrots and roast pork, but actually it's elevated into something new.
36:52People want the same thing.
36:53They want something familiar, but with a little bit fresh.
36:55That's exactly what it is.
36:56And this is exactly what this is.
36:57It's Sunday lunch as you know it, but not as you know it, with a different spin on it.
37:01Every single element you know and it's familiar, but it's different.
37:04It's a real play on what is a British classic that's taken to new flavours.
37:08I love it.
37:08I think it's a great dish.
37:09A couple of little tweaks.
37:10I think this is most definitely banquet-worthy for me.
37:15It's Ash's main course next.
37:19Roasted duck breasts are finished on the barbecue.
37:22Got to get the brummy honey in there.
37:24She bastes mushrooms in a honey and soy glaze.
37:28Hi, Andy.
37:29How you doing, Chef?
37:30Deep.
37:30Yeah, deep in the thick of it.
37:32Deep in the thick of it.
37:33This was a nine.
37:34What was this dish called?
37:35This dish is called a dream within a dream.
37:37A dream within a dream.
37:38It's hilarious bread sauce.
37:41Why wasn't it at ten?
37:42The link to the brief seemed as if you, maybe if you hadn't seen the film, it was a bit
37:46tricky.
37:47Right.
37:47I've mitigated that by adjusting my props accordingly.
37:50On the plate itself, the nectarine needed a bit more oomph, a bit more punch since it got lost a
37:55little bit.
37:55So I'm adding a Chardonnay gastrique.
37:57Something to cut through that richness and all of that beautiful duck.
38:01Up next, we have a dream within a dream, which is duck breast roasted on the crown, glazed with Birmingham
38:07honey and soy,
38:08comfy legs, whipped into a rillette, covered with a celeriac crisp, celeriac bread sauce, a skewer made with the duck
38:15heart, duck liver and king oyster mushroom, barbecued mataki mushroom,
38:20nectarine relish and a duck jus gras.
38:22This dish celebrates visual effects supervisors Peter Bebb and Andrew Lockley from Staffordshire for their academy winning work on the
38:30film Inception.
38:31Its presentation is inspired by the dream world they created.
38:34A dream within a dream, an MP3 player within a box.
38:37Once you hear this music, prepare yourself for the duck dish that will bring you out of your dream within
38:43a dream.
38:45Alison's already vibing in the dream.
38:47Before service, Ash attempts to turn out tempered chocolate eggs ready for her dessert.
38:54But they're stuck.
38:56I think I know where I went wrong, because I rushed these.
38:59Looks like the chocolate's settled on the bottom.
39:02Leaving her no choice but to do them again.
39:05But with service looming, she needs to concentrate on getting her mane out.
39:09This is the least of my worries right now.
39:12Finishing a celeriac bread sauce.
39:14I know, if I panic then it's all over it.
39:16And torching duck breasts to give them a final char.
39:23Ash, it's go time. Seven minutes to the past, Chef. How are you getting on, alright?
39:27Yes, I'm on track, Dax Andy.
39:29Do you want any help, Ash?
39:30I'm motoring, I'm motoring, yeah.
39:32I'll just stare into my shoe then.
39:33Yeah, sweet.
39:34First is honey and soy glazed duck breast.
39:38Nectarine relish.
39:40Duck leg confit rillettes.
39:42Couple of bits of time on the nectarine for me, please, mate.
39:46One minute, Chef.
39:47One minute, I'm going to need an extra, at least one, potentially two.
39:50OK.
39:51Barbecued maitake mushrooms.
39:53Celeriac bread sauce.
39:54An offal skewer.
39:57An offal skewer.
39:57And the duck leg is topped with crispy celeriac.
40:01And a jug of jus gras sauce.
40:05Ooh, it looks good.
40:07Woo!
40:11Service, please.
40:36It doesn't really have anything to do with the brief, aside from the bare music and the top.
40:41But I think it's mostly delicious.
40:44I love the confit rillette.
40:46I think the sauce is really nice and the thyme that comes through on that gravy, I think it's really
40:49lovely.
40:50For me, the issue is the main piece of duck, which is a bit big and a bit dull.
40:54I love the duck rillette.
40:56The barbecued maitake is really nice, meaty, barbecue-y, roasted, really love the flavour of that.
41:01Not so keen on the bread sauce.
41:03And for me, the duck's a little bit overcooked.
41:06I'm not a big fan of the dish, if I'm honest.
41:07I like bits of it.
41:09I think the rillette's really nice.
41:10I like the texture and the crispy celeriac on the top.
41:12Not overly sold on the skewer.
41:15Nectarine chutney is really yummy.
41:16The issue of this dish is there's six or seven elements that we all like different parts of it.
41:21I absolutely love the skewer, the flavour of it, I think it's fantastic.
41:26But we've got lots of different elements that are sat there as separate pieces.
41:31It's not quite in synergy, it's not connected.
41:34But also, there's somehow quite a lot going on and not enough going on at the same time.
41:38And, like Phil says, I think the chef kind of gave up on the connection to the brief.
41:42This plate of food you would never associate with the movie.
41:45No.
41:46No, if you were in a pub quiz trying to guess which movie it was, you'd be there a long
41:49time, really.
41:54It's straight on with pre-desserts and Nikita starts her dish with an Indian lemonade flavoured panni sorbet.
42:01I'm going to spray my boobs quick, yeah?
42:04Ash's yoghurt mousse is coated in pink velvet cocoa butter.
42:08You have three minutes to the pass.
42:10She fills yoghurt mousses with a raspberry and rose gel and tops with a fresh raspberry.
42:16And after adding dried mango, Nikita finishes hers with a yoghurt foam.
42:21I'm ready.
42:22All right, Chef, we're ready for you, thank you.
42:28OK.
42:30Service, please.
42:31Service, please.
42:42So, for our pre-desserts, we have Unveiling Beauty.
42:46Yoghurt mousse, raspberry and rose gel sprayed with pink velvet cocoa butter.
42:50Celebrating Brummie legend Dame Julie Walters and her role in Calendar Girls as a WI member.
43:03I love the yoghurt mousse, just all the other flavours that come with it don't quite give it enough contrasting
43:08kick.
43:08I find this quite savoury almost.
43:11Yeah, I'm not too sure about it, if I'm honest with you.
43:13It's quite heavy and thick and I don't know if it prepares you for a dessert.
43:18This is kind of like more richness on richness.
43:21And we also have half-time refresh.
43:23Nimbu pani sorbet, yoghurt foam and dried mango.
43:27Lester's Parminda Nagra plays Jess, the leading character in Bend It Like Beckham.
43:41This, I absolutely love the yoghurt foam, I think it's great.
43:44And I love the chewy bits of mango.
43:47I'm a little bit unsure of the cumin in the sorbet.
43:49I don't think I like it, but then I want more of it and I can't say whether I like
43:54it or not.
43:54You can't stop eating this one.
43:56Even as I'm sitting here and I put the lid back on, I'm thinking, if I take that lid back
43:59off, I might have another spoon.
44:01It's not that complex, but it's clean, it's refreshing and it most definitely has a bit more punch than the
44:06other one.
44:06So clever, so delicious, so refreshing.
44:08And it's what you want after all that richness that we've just had.
44:11We've got to lift up which one we prefer.
44:14I do love the football, but I think that yoghurt mousse is very special.
44:22It's the last course of the day.
44:24How are you feeling, Ash?
44:26You just don't know what they're thinking, do you?
44:27It's so hard, having four completely different people.
44:31Exactly.
44:32And with Ash's chocolate eggs failing on the first attempt, she's pushing to get a second batch finished in time.
44:38Sure am.
44:40And has moved to the cooler prep kitchen.
44:43The ambient temperature in there is almost 14 degrees higher than it is here.
44:47Chocolate likes 18-ish degrees.
44:50It's currently 20 in here, so I've got a much better chance of having a little bit of success.
44:56Alison, you've worked with some incredible superstars like Cate Blanchett, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Craig.
45:03I mean, who's got the biggest star aura about them?
45:06Daniel I sort of knew before he was Bond for a long time, so I'm not starstruck by him.
45:12But I would say that Tom Hanks is like, hello.
45:17Yeah, that's pretty big.
45:18He's a real star, and he deals with it so gracefully, and he's also just one of the nicest people
45:24you could possibly...
45:25I know it's a cliche, but not everybody is nice, actually.
45:27Tom is genuinely fantastic.
45:30I've just got, like, lots of things to bake, you know, really.
45:34Nikita is serving first.
45:36Tom suggested doing more of a soak on the sponge, so I'm doing exactly that.
45:41All right, chef, last one, last one. You ready?
45:43This one's a real push.
45:45Looking good?
45:45It's okay, these aren't as neat as they were yesterday.
45:49You've got the GBM handshake.
45:50Yeah.
45:51You scored an eight, beginning of the end.
45:53The feedback was mostly about sweetness.
45:55Yep.
45:56I'm upping the salt, also adding, like, some salted peanuts through the ice cream.
46:01This dish celebrates Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel, starring Ipswich-born Ralph Fiennes,
46:07and the scene where his character orders shoe buns from a patisserie to be delivered to prison.
46:12The chef will visually recreate that dish.
46:15Visual recreation of a Wes Anderson movie.
46:18A lot of pressure.
46:19In food.
46:19It's a big ask, isn't it?
46:22Yeah.
46:23Nikita adds the finishing touches to her shoe bun icing.
46:29Before baking tuile doily bases.
46:32This is the biggest push of the day.
46:35Oh, in this one.
46:48Three minutes to the pass, chef.
46:50A change to her original dessert, she swaps a base of peanuts for chocolate ganache and banana.
46:56You happy with your tuiles?
46:57I am happy with my tuiles, yes.
47:00Like a good amount of peanut in each, like, little bite, right?
47:03Okay.
47:03You've got one minute to time.
47:05I'm gonna need an extra five, I think.
47:07An extra five, all right.
47:09Largest shoe is filled with jaggery ice cream with the addition of salted peanuts.
47:15Don't panic, Nikita, you're all right.
47:18Yeah.
47:18The Midlands' smallest shoe are filled with banana custard and ganache.
47:23All right, we need to go now.
47:24Let's go.
47:24Yep.
47:32OK.
47:32Let's go.
47:33Yes.
47:33Service, please.
47:35All right, grab the tool.
47:39Last one.
47:41Come here.
47:47Ah, great.
47:54One.
47:54Two.
47:54Two.
47:55Two.
47:55Three.
47:56Oh!
47:58Oh, wow.
47:59Oh, my goodness.
48:09The impact at the start of you taking the lid off, it all collapsing straight away.
48:13Ta-da!
48:13Like, it does feel like you're in the film.
48:15I love the crunch and the nuttiness from the peanuts.
48:18The tuiles really crunchy as well.
48:19Shoe pastry is very well made.
48:21The shoe buns themselves, I think, are really, really good, crispy and crunchy.
48:25My problem is the banana and the ganache on the bottom of the plate.
48:29It's just, like, cold banana and a bit of chocolate.
48:33I enjoyed it all, but I feel like I'm...
48:35I don't know how to describe it.
48:36I don't feel like I'm overall satisfied by it.
48:39But I do like it and think it's well made.
48:40I think it's incredibly well made.
48:42I think it's a real showcase of clear technical skill.
48:45I mean, I thought the flavours were delicious.
48:47I thought it was really, really, really nice.
48:49I loved everything about it so much that I feel unaccountably loyal and cross with anyone
48:53who's criticising.
48:55A tiny bit, cos it was so beautiful.
48:57Look at it, it's just the colours.
48:59It's funny.
48:59This little doily, the tower.
49:01This really is, I think, the first dish of the day that is so connected to the brief
49:06that it could be in the film.
49:07Chapeau.
49:08Yeah.
49:08Hats off.
49:09I mean, it's really...
49:10Fantastic.
49:13Ash's dessert is the last dish of the day, and with one failed attempt at the centrepiece,
49:18a tempered chocolate egg...
49:21A very, very fragile little egg, just like me.
49:24She's relying on this batch as it was her highest-scoring dish of the week.
49:30Got one out.
49:33Smashed it.
49:35And now we have Second City Easter Egg.
49:39Gold-sprayed white chocolate Easter egg filled with passionfruit curd, vanilla mousse,
49:44toasted foillotine, and a kataifi pastry nest.
49:48This dish celebrates Steven Spielberg's film, Ready Player One, where many of the scenes
49:53were filmed in Digbeth, Birmingham.
49:55During the film, there was a quest to find the Easter egg in the virtual reality space
49:59called the Oasis.
50:00This chef has recreated that Easter egg.
50:03White chocolate and passionfruit, they are two flavours that, if they're not right,
50:08they fight.
50:10Mm-hm.
50:10Mm-hm.
50:11It's just a scary one, isn't it?
50:13Also, white chocolate, it's very difficult to work with.
50:16The big fat ten.
50:17Big fat ten.
50:18Big fat ten.
50:18I'll play a big fat ten today as well.
50:20You'll be really good to get that same score.
50:22Are you making any changes, chef?
50:24No, no, none at all.
50:25You've been having a bit of a problem with your chocolate.
50:27I rushed it earlier.
50:28Yeah.
50:29And chocolate can sense fear.
50:32You just can't rush it, can you?
50:33Preparation.
50:34Yeah.
50:35Chocolate eggs are filled with vanilla mousse.
50:39I've got to change my pants straight after this.
50:41Oh!
50:45And passionfruit curd.
50:48Oh, you're so calm.
50:49I'm so jealous.
50:52Oh!
50:53Are you sure I have to stand and watch this part?
50:55No, you can go away, it's actually better if you do.
51:05They're finished with edible gold spray.
51:09Vanilla mousses first, then kataifi nests.
51:15Passionfruit curd and foillotine.
51:19Three minutes, Ash.
51:21I'm going to need extra time, please.
51:23Okay.
51:34Okay, let's go.
51:36All right.
51:39All right, let's go really carefully with these.
51:43Let's go, guys.
51:45Service, please.
51:49Oh, guys.
51:51I'm really, genuinely, really proud of you both, honestly.
52:04They all look scared, don't they?
52:11Gorgeous.
52:13A chip on the plate takes the judges to a behind-the-scenes making of the film Ready Player One
52:28in Birmingham.
52:30I love it.
52:30I think it's great.
52:31I really, really like it.
52:32I think that maybe the white chocolate is ever so slightly a little bit thick, but other
52:37than that, I think it's a really good dessert.
52:39I think this cutoffee nest is fantastic.
52:42It's buttery, delicious.
52:44It's managed to stay crispy.
52:45The filling, there's just too much of it.
52:47It's big old dollops of gloopy cream for me, but I don't like cream eggs.
52:51But the red button...
52:52I don't like cream eggs, either.
52:53I don't like cream eggs.
52:53Sorry.
52:54Did I hear that right?
52:55I don't like a cream egg.
52:56No, me neither.
52:57It's too much gloop.
52:58I think if I hadn't eaten so much today, I would eat it all.
53:00Actually, I don't think I'd be able to eat the whole of this even without the day of eating,
53:04but it is yummy.
53:06It's very well done.
53:07I think it's great technical ability as well.
53:09Yeah, the white chocolate, you said that the white chocolate's hard to temper,
53:11but would you say they've done a pretty good job?
53:13They've done a great job.
53:14They've done it really nicely.
53:16It's got crisp.
53:17It's got crunch on it.
53:18It's got texture.
53:19The flavours are delicious.
53:20I really, really like the vanilla mousse.
53:23I think it's delicious.
53:24I think that's like a proper winner.
53:27It's a very, very good dish.
53:32That's the most hectic, like, few hours of my life, I reckon.
53:36I've got some more lines on my forehead.
53:38I feel a few more greys coming through.
53:41It's been a pleasure sharing the kitchen with you guys.
53:44Should we do this?
53:45Should we go get the results?
53:47Okay, let's do it.
54:04Welcome, chefs.
54:06I've been with you all week.
54:07It's been an extraordinary week, chefs.
54:09And the way you carried yourself in the kitchen has just been an absolute joy.
54:13So thank you both.
54:14Yeah, we've had a wonderful day in here.
54:16I mean, it was super interesting.
54:17It was clever, inspired.
54:19It was cheerful.
54:20It made us smile.
54:22You know, there was some great cooking in there.
54:24And with that, I want to know who cooked Second City Easter Egg.
54:28Chef, I mean, for me, that was just such a beautiful dessert.
54:31It was rich.
54:32It was indulgent.
54:34I scored it a nine.
54:34It was a great dish.
54:35Thank you very much, chef.
54:36Appreciate that.
54:37So, Nikita, that means you made Beginning of the End.
54:40You really set yourself a high bar choosing a Wes Anderson film to replicate.
54:44But you smashed through that challenge, and it tasted fantastic as well.
54:48So well done.
54:48Thank you so much.
54:49I was trying to be judicious and precise, but I lost the plot on the last course.
54:53I had to score you both a ten, because there was no other way to do it, in my view.
54:59Well, look, we're not going to make you wait any longer.
55:01I mean, with scores like that, Andy knows what they are, and she's got the results.
55:05The winner of Central and East of England by only four points.
55:11That winner, and going through to Cook, at finals, is...
55:24Nikita.
55:27Come on.
55:29You earned it.
55:31You earned it.
55:32You earned it.
55:33Nikita, well done.
55:38You might be able to tell I was surprised, because, I mean, I learned so much this week
55:45from watching Ash.
55:46I mean...
55:47But it was an outstanding cooking, and that pork dish, that main course, was phenomenal.
55:52I thought it was a beautiful bit of cooking.
55:53Well done, chef.
55:54Thank you so much.
55:55Yeah, Nikita, you really needn't be in shock, because the halibut curry dish as well
55:59is delicious.
56:00I felt like I was back in Malaysia.
56:01It was absolutely stunning, and that stuffed chilli was so clever and so effective.
56:04Yeah, well done.
56:05Thank you so much.
56:06Commiserations, Ash.
56:07You've cooked so well today.
56:09It's been really, really good, and I absolutely loved your starter dish.
56:11The balance, the textures, the flavour of it.
56:13I gave it an eye, and I absolutely loved it.
56:15Thank you very much.
56:16Yeah, Ash, brilliant, brilliant cooking.
56:18And thank you for letting me be a part of it.
56:19It's just been such a privilege.
56:20I've been, you know, teased and entertained and surprised, but ultimately satisfied.
56:27Just...
56:27Chapeau.
56:28Brilliant.
56:29Chapeau.
56:30Alison, thank you so much for coming.
56:32It's been a joy to have you here.
56:33Please come to the banquet.
56:35I'm there.
56:36Absolutely.
56:37Chefs, once again, thank you so much.
56:40Congratulations, Nikita.
56:42Commiserations, but also congratulations, because you've literally cooked your socks off,
56:48both of you.
56:48Yeah, it feels like it.
56:49Well done.
56:51Stunning.
56:58I can't believe that just happened.
57:01Never more worthy opponent I've ever had.
57:04Like, she's fantastic, and I really now just wanted it to go all the way through.
57:12Ash, I watched her all day, and she's so amazing, and so I just don't, I don't know, I'm so
57:18overwhelmed
57:19by it.
57:20This didn't happen, like, accidentally.
57:23Like, I've worked my socks off for this, and for it to pay off is just, it's just amazing.
57:29Well, I told you there was some stunning food on the way, didn't I?
57:32Every single one that came into that room was exciting, and it was clever, and it was thoughtful,
57:37and it was delicious.
57:38In the end, Nikita just won out.
57:41I mean, four points is nothing.
57:43When you think it's something that close all the way through, there was some great cooking.
57:47Ash's sauce for that fish I thought was outstanding.
57:50Do you know what it was?
57:50I think it was just that main course dish, that one course, just, just pipped it.
57:56And then her dessert.
57:57I mean, ah, it was magic.
57:59It was rich and salty.
58:00It's stunningly beautiful.
58:02Congratulations to Nikita, though.
58:04What a chef.
58:05What a talent.
58:06I just feel like we've discovered two really extraordinary chefs.
58:09I'm really happy to see Nikita through to finals, and we're going to bear Ash in mind.
58:13I cannot wait to see that pork pie again.
58:15Oh, my God.
58:16I mean...
58:18You deserve everything that's coming your way.
58:20You're so talented.
58:21It's been a pleasure.
58:22It's been so nice.
58:23It's been the best.
58:23Cheers.
58:24Cheers, mate.
58:26Good luck in finals.
58:27Not that you need it.
58:31Cheers.
58:33Cheers.
58:35Cheers.
58:44Cheers.
58:46Cheers.
58:47Cheers.
58:48Cheers.
58:49Cheers.
58:49Cheers.
58:51Cheers.
58:52Cheers.
58:53Cheers.
58:53Cheers.
58:54Cheers.