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00:02This week four exceptional chefs from the north-eastern Yorkshire are hoping for stardom in the great British menu kitchen.
00:11One more. Fantastic. Beautiful.
00:15This year, using movies as their inspiration, the UK's finest chefs are competing over six courses with the ultimate accolade.
00:26Cooking at a star-studded banquet at Liverpool's St George's Hall.
00:32They'll need blockbuster dishes to impress their mentors, veterans of the competition, both trusted old hands and new faces who
00:41will eliminate the lowest scoring chefs each day until the final two face our exacting cast of judges.
00:50It's interesting. Just perfect. That's delicious, yeah.
00:52Who will add their name to the glittering list of great British menu winners?
00:58I'm just a girl standing in front of George asking to love my food.
01:16This week is the turn of the north-east of England. I'm sure there'll be high drama and blockbusters, and
01:21that's just the movies.
01:24First through the door, Jamie Keeble. He cut his teeth in Michelin-starred restaurants before moving to Mies in Hovingham,
01:32York, and winning his own star seven months later.
01:35I thrive under pressure and really like the intensity of everything going on in the kitchen. I will definitely do
01:41well this week.
01:43Ex-firefighter Ryan McVeigh is a self-taught chef who suffered a life-changing injury to his foot whilst on
01:50duty and decided his future lay in food.
01:53He's the founder and head chef of The Calabas Tree in Sunderland, cooking contemporary Caribbean food.
02:00I've never worked in a professional kitchen, so this space is completely new to me.
02:05My greatest skill as a chef is probably the ability to stay calm.
02:10Being a firefighter means that going to a burning building, we have to be calm and focused.
02:15Weika Zhao is the head chef at Woodall Hotel and Spa in Wetherby.
02:20Born in China, she came to the UK ten years ago to work in some of Yorkshire's top restaurants.
02:25Her food fuses Yorkshire ingredients and Asian flavours.
02:30How I got into cooking, it's all like home cooking.
02:35It reminds me the time I spent with my mum.
02:38Good morning!
02:39And be her sous chef.
02:41Nice to meet you.
02:42I'm Ryan.
02:42I think flavour, flavour, flavour make me unique.
02:46Finally returning for his third crack at the title is Cal Byerly, head chef and owner of the Michelin-starred
02:53Pine in Northumberland.
02:54Hi guys.
02:55He first entered the competition in 2023 and in 2024 reached finals week, but not the banquet itself.
03:04So I've just met all the other chefs.
03:06I know Jamie haven't eaten at each of his restaurants.
03:08I think Jamie's my biggest competition.
03:10I feel like I need to win, you know, a third time back.
03:13I think almost like last chance saloon.
03:15I was surprised by how many North East connections there were to film, like directors and you know.
03:20Yeah.
03:21Ha ha!
03:22This is a fighter, aren't you?
03:24I like to think so.
03:25Waker.
03:26Hello.
03:27Welcome to the competition.
03:29Jamie, are you ready for this competition?
03:31Yes.
03:31Yeah.
03:31Excited.
03:32Ryan, how about you?
03:33Nervous?
03:34Excited and nervous.
03:36Fantastic.
03:36Okay.
03:37So chefs, as always, we start with the canapé.
03:42The canapé.
03:42Remember, you want your veteran excited and inspired by who you are.
03:47Alright chefs, I will see you very soon.
03:49Thank you Andy.
03:50Bye, smash it.
03:51The canapés won't be scored but ranked and used to decide a tie break should one arise.
03:56The canapé, it's very clean, it's elegant and then there's a lot of big flavours in there.
04:03Returning chef Cal serving a venison tartare and a blackcurrant tart with an egg yolk jam.
04:10What I call egg yolk jam because it is like really, really jammy.
04:14I've chosen this canapé because I think it's delicious, it utilises a lot of ingredients that are local to me.
04:19Jamie is also banking on a tartare but this time aged beef served with burnt cream and oxtail in a
04:25charcoal pastry case.
04:27So I'm making the cases for the tarts.
04:31I'm trying to get a taste of Trinidad right from the get go.
04:37Ryan's drawing on his Caribbean heritage, serving a coconut blini, toasted saltfish and curried mayonnaise.
04:44So I've got the saltfish cooking away there.
04:46Looks all flake in about ten minutes.
04:50My canapé is called care package.
04:53It's something we always have every Chinese New Year.
04:57Waker's also using fish, dishing up a lobster and sea bass dumpling.
05:01It should be quite heavy with the ginger and lemongrass flavour.
05:06You looking good? Yeah, really good.
05:07But who's this week's veteran chef tasked with judging their dishes?
05:13Waker, if I said to you, Paul Ainsworth, Akhtar Islam, Lisa Goodwin-Allen or Adam Handley, who would be your
05:21favourite?
05:21I would like to say Paul.
05:23He got very high standard and he'll always give really good advice.
05:27How about you, Jamie?
05:28I think I'd be happy with any judge.
05:30How about you, Ryan?
05:31I think for the spice levels, probably Akhtar.
05:34I've had Akhtar before, so if I got him again, I feel like I'm cursed.
05:39All right, lovely chefs, you have five minutes.
05:45The veteran is in the building.
05:47A lot to do.
05:48He's one of Britain's top chefs with the Michelin star and former dessert course winner in 2011.
05:55That is time. Thank you, chefs.
06:00It's Paul Ainsworth.
06:01How are you? Hello, chefs.
06:02How are you? Hello, chef.
06:04Right, Waker, we'll start with you.
06:06So we've got lobster dumpling with the sea bass and the lemongrass ginger and a little bit kick from the
06:12lobster chilli oil.
06:15We've got the coconut blini and the saltfish boujol.
06:18OK.
06:23Charcoal pie filled with a caramelised Jersey cream, aged beef tartar bound with preserved alliums.
06:32What have we got?
06:33It's a blackcurrant and shizu tartlet.
06:36Mm.
06:37There's venison tartar dressed with venison garum, smoked egg yolk jam.
06:44So what are you expecting from these four hopefuls?
06:47I'm expecting fireworks.
06:50We want to have a great week.
06:52This theme is absolutely fantastic.
06:54You know, no excuses.
06:55I want you to just, all out, all of the time, just give it your all.
06:59All right?
06:59Thank you, chef.
07:00Thank you, chef.
07:03It was really intense to get everything on the pass on time.
07:09I'm really excited that Paul's the veteran judge.
07:11I hope that he enjoys the kind of food that I like to cook.
07:14If I get my head down and get the dishes as I want them, then I think I'll score quite
07:17highly from Paul.
07:19Mistakes are the things that are going to be a downfall in this competition.
07:22And the only thing that's going to stop you is yourself.
07:24Who was your least favourite?
07:26Who was number four?
07:27Uh, Ryan.
07:29Saltfish, coconut, blini.
07:30It just didn't taste of a lot.
07:34Oh, my God, is that what you did for breakfast?
07:36That's incredible.
07:37Very, very tasty.
07:38Number three is Jamie with the tartare.
07:42Just not punchy enough.
07:44The beef itself is really delicious.
07:47Number two would be cow.
07:49It looked very pretty, but that black girl was strong.
07:53That was really good, Nick.
07:54Wow, it's just so balanced.
07:56Number one, by a country mile.
07:59Wow.
08:00I really enjoyed that lobster dumpling.
08:03Honestly, Andy, I could have eaten a hundred.
08:06That heat's perfect.
08:07Lovely, isn't it?
08:08I thought it was absolutely delicious.
08:13Getting the shallots on to render down.
08:15It's on to the vegan starter.
08:17Gonna get the dal, start sweating down the onions.
08:20Each dish has to be themed on British movies or movie makers
08:23and must have a connection to the northeastern Yorkshire region.
08:28So this is for my bee root tartare with a bee root sauce.
08:32This is just for my toasted sunflower seed miso ice cream.
08:37So tell us about your dish, please, Jamie.
08:39So the dish is called Calendar Chefs, inspired by calendar girls.
08:43Oh, brilliant.
08:44Based around the sunflower that's seen quite a lot throughout the film.
08:47So I'm using the entire sunflower, cooking the sunflower down really gently.
08:51I've made a sunflower seed miso, which I'll be turning into an ice cream.
08:56And I'm going to finish that with a spiced butternut squash soup that's been infused with a little bit of
09:01lemon verbena.
09:02Good luck, Chef.
09:03Sounds really intriguing.
09:05It's important to score highly in the starter because someone's going home after fish.
09:09Cal's celebrating a famous film director from South Shields.
09:12Hey, Cal.
09:13How you doing?
09:13Tell the dish is I'm the greatest botanist on this planet.
09:16It's a movie quote from The Martian, so Ridley Scott.
09:19When he's trapped on Mars, his way of survival, he's only got so many ration packets left.
09:23And he basically farms potatoes on Mars.
09:27So, Cal, talk me through it.
09:28I'm going to cook the potatoes in rapeseed oil.
09:30But I'm doing caramelised shallots in the bottom, like rendering those down for the entire time I'm given.
09:36And then the King Edwards.
09:37I'm going to make a potato puree.
09:39They're amazing.
09:40Yeah, so those are freeze-dried tomatoes.
09:43They're quite chewy, those.
09:44Yeah.
09:44Oh, right.
09:45I'm going to do like a packet of space food on the side.
09:47I'm also pickling the shallots, freezing them and then freeze-drying.
09:50Well, we can't wait to see it.
09:51Can't wait.
09:52Thank you, Cal.
09:53All right, mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms.
09:59Ryan's also championing the North East's most famous director.
10:03It's called From Grains to Glory.
10:05It's based on the film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott.
10:09Pearl Barley was a diet of gladiators.
10:11So, we've got Pearl Barley and Red Dental Dal.
10:13I really love Pearl Barley.
10:15I think to use it as a dal is very clever.
10:17How's it going to be presented?
10:18So, I'm going to serve it in a wooden bowl as a gladiator would eat in a wooden bowl.
10:22And then we're going to have...
10:23We're going to make a vegan butter and pipe it onto a wooden spoon.
10:27So, as the dining, you'll finish that, stir that in.
10:29Have you got some textures?
10:31We've got some mushrooms as well.
10:32I'll get them flashed in the pan with some soy sauce and some maple syrup for some sweetness.
10:36OK.
10:37Good.
10:39So, this is the pickling liquid where they use the juice to give the dish the sharpness.
10:45Hey, Chef.
10:46Hello.
10:46What is the title of your dish and the inspiration, Waker?
10:49The blood is the life from the film called Count Dracula.
10:53Released in 1970, Count Dracula starred Christopher Lee and parts of the film are set in Whitby, Yorkshire.
11:01So, for the dish, I have beer root tartare and I have horseradish tofu cream with the sauce made with
11:08beer root juice, master stock and blackberries.
11:11I love master stock.
11:13Is this a family recipe?
11:14My mom's recipe.
11:15Fantastic.
11:15The golden beets, are they just giving you a different element to go with the dark beet roots?
11:21So, I will have some sliced golden beer root and also red beer root as well, pickled.
11:27Yeah.
11:27Just to balance out that earthiness.
11:29I think this is a great use of ingredients. I think it's a lovely link to the brief.
11:35Jamie's making the base of his butternut squash soup to be served alongside his toasted sunflower seed ice cream.
11:42Shallots, chilli and garlic roasting down. That's half of the vegan butter going in there now.
11:47He's basically making a butternut squash soup.
11:49This is the one I'm most worried about.
11:51I think he's playing it a bit safe. You know, it didn't feel banquet level.
11:59Cal's working on his potato and garlic puree.
12:02I'm just about to put them in the oven and I'm going to steam them 85 degrees for 25 minutes
12:06first.
12:07What gave you cause a concern on Cal's dish?
12:10He's just got to get that comforting potato spot on with that nice balance of freshness.
12:18Ryan's building the spice laden base of his curled barley and red lentil dal.
12:23We've got benedict, coriander, the turmeric, roasted cumin, paprika, ground coriander and some ground cumin.
12:31He's making a barley red lentil dal.
12:34He had a lot of spices there but also you still need to season.
12:42So next I'm going to make the sauce which is like a blood looking sauce.
12:47Waker's blood sauce will be made with beetroot juice, master stock and blackberries.
12:52I really want this to pull through on flavour and making sure that it's not just a bit sort of
12:58earthy sweet beetroot, that there's some real substance to this dish.
13:03With his butternut squash soup now blitzed, Jamie's turning his attention to the roasted sunflower seed ice cream.
13:09Once the ice cream's been whipped, I'll scoop it into this toasted seed crumble and roll it so it's coating
13:15the seeds back around the ice cream.
13:20Originally from Kent, Jamie took the helm at Mies in Yorkshire when it opened in 2024.
13:25He prides himself on food championing Yorkshire's finest ingredients.
13:31To be honest, as a kid, I had never had any interest in food.
13:34And then at around 15, 16, gave cooking a go.
13:38My mum was always an amazing cook.
13:40From then on, as I started to cook and started to fall in love with it more and more,
13:44I travelled all around the UK working in Michelin-starred restaurants and wanting to be the best and wanting to
13:50be a part of the chaos.
13:52Ever since then, it's become a deeper and deeper love of mine. It's an obsession.
13:56The way I like to cook is refined grandma cooking.
13:59It's nostalgic and it's something that people can understand.
14:02Service.
14:05Jamie, completely finished or are you just letting that infuse?
14:08So the verbena's steeping in there now.
14:10And the chilli's been in there at the beginning.
14:12Yeah, so I sweated the chilli down with a bit of garlic and some shallots.
14:15Yeah.
14:15A little bit of the vegan butter.
14:17Brought the squash down with it.
14:20Infuse the verbena and then I'll bring it back up.
14:22Will it stay nice and busy?
14:25I'm still very, very worried about sort of how little Jamie's got going on.
14:30But I have tried that butternut squash soup and flavour is delicious.
14:36Cal's moved on to his space food-inspired freeze-dried shallots.
14:39So, yeah, vinegar, water, some sugar.
14:42I'm going to boil that up, pour it over the shallots and then into the freeze-dryer.
14:49Cal opened his restaurant Pine in 2021, quickly winning a Michelin star and a green Michelin star.
14:55He blends locally foraged food with seasonal ingredients from his own kitchen garden.
15:02My first chef job was working at a pub just across the road from Pine, but, you know, I've worked
15:08all around the UK.
15:10I think my cooking style is just being really thoughtful about making sure everything on the plate is exciting but
15:16tastes amazing.
15:19I've got what it takes to get to the banquet. I wouldn't bother doing this if I didn't think I
15:23could do it.
15:26And?
15:28Right, anything we can taste?
15:29We've got the rendered shallots here, but it's a 12-hour process. I'm trying to speed up until I get
15:33two hours.
15:33Two hours, please.
15:34Yeah, yeah.
15:35You know, normally you just have it ticking over all day.
15:37All right.
15:38Speak you in a bit.
15:39Thanks, chef.
15:41The rendered shallots, I just hope that the effort he's putting in to try and do something that would normally
15:46take 12 hours is going to be worth it because it's taking a lot of his time.
15:54You winning, Cal?
15:55Yeah, good, man. How are you?
15:56All right, I think.
15:57Yeah, relaxes into it?
15:58I think so.
15:59With his dials simmering with a whole Scots bonnet for added flavour punch, Ryan moves on to his vegan butter
16:06blended with whole roasted cumin seeds.
16:08I'm really intrigued to try the butter.
16:11I'll get you cleaned.
16:14I've got a clean one.
16:26And the dal underway?
16:28Yeah, just there and it's reduced now so we get a good cook on the pearl barley.
16:32Good.
16:33All right, thanks.
16:36Is this just a really nice side dish rather than a beautiful starter?
16:42Whilst Ryan blitzes a green oil made with coriander chives and parsley, Wake has made her horseradish tofu cream using
16:50yuzu juice and mirin.
16:52Next up, the garnish.
16:54I'm making the crisps between the nori sheets and the rice paper.
16:59Just season with a little bit of garlic powder to give it a little bit of flavour.
17:04The sheets are stuck together then dried.
17:07Normally this will need to dry overnight but to speed up I use a heat gun.
17:15I'm making it a little bit more.
17:16Her beetroot blood sauce is reduced.
17:19I'm thinking that will be all right now.
17:24Anything I can taste?
17:25I just got this sauce ready, which is the blood.
17:29This is the blood.
17:30I was hoping you were going to say that.
17:31This is the blood.
17:31It's a bit warm now but I'm going to serve like a room temperature.
17:37All right.
17:37Keep going.
17:39See you soon.
17:41The flavour of it was really nice.
17:43I think I would want it just a touch thicker to kind of like resemble like what she's going for.
17:51Damn.
17:53Just pack her in this sunflower ice cream.
17:56Fingers crossed.
17:58First to the pass, Jamie.
18:00So once this ice cream comes out, I'm going to start playing basically.
18:05Jamie's challenge is that the ice cream doesn't cool down the hot soup when it's poured into the bowl.
18:12Ice cream into this bowl here.
18:13Roll it in the toasted seeds.
18:15Hollow it out and fill it with a vinaigrette.
18:17How are you getting on young Jamie?
18:19Yeah.
18:19Being a good chef?
18:20Yeah.
18:21So far so good.
18:22What flavours the ice cream are going Jamie?
18:24So it's a toasted sunflower seed misa.
18:26I tell you what you could do for me Ryan.
18:28When it comes to it, there's some jugs in the pass down here.
18:31Three of those, soup into the jug, fill them to the top basically.
18:37Jamie, seven minutes.
18:39Wait.
18:40The ice cream is finally ready.
18:42So that, in the middle yeah.
18:43In the middle yeah.
18:44Each scoop is rolled in the toasted sunflower seeds before a pool of vinaigrette is added.
18:51What's in the dressing?
18:53Uh, so it's vinegar made from the leaves and the petals.
18:56Um, and then some of the liquor basically.
18:59Get the soup done now Jim?
19:00Yeah let's go on that soup please.
19:02Preserved sunflower hearts top the ice cream.
19:04So it's everything from the sunflower?
19:06Yeah the entire sunflower.
19:08Before fresh sunflower petals finish the dish.
19:11One minute to the pass Jamie.
19:13Oui chef.
19:21The dish is called calendar chefs inspired by the film calendar girls.
19:25Yeah.
19:26And the women's institution in the northeast.
19:27Right, pick which one you want Jamie and let's go taste.
19:30Good luck chef.
19:31Good luck chef.
19:32All right, follow the mate.
19:43Definitely the colour of a sunflower.
19:54Okay Jamie, let's start with the soup.
19:56Happy with the consistency?
19:58Yeah the texture, really happy with it.
20:00I like the texture.
20:02I'm loving the contrast between the soup and the ice cream.
20:05The temperature contrast between hot soup, the cold ice cream.
20:08Is that what you're going for?
20:10Yeah, yeah I think it's quite interesting.
20:12Something a little bit different.
20:13It's brave doing ice cream for a starter.
20:15Yeah.
20:16Jamie the chilli, is that playing its part?
20:19Yeah it's definitely lightly spiced.
20:21Um, but it's not meant to be sort of knock your head off.
20:24I'd quite like a bit of, like a slice of something to dig in.
20:28I think you're right.
20:29You need something on the side.
20:31Soup deserves bread.
20:33What would you score this?
20:35I'd like to say a ten.
20:38Eight.
20:39Eight.
20:40Eight.
20:46How did it go?
20:47I think it went okay.
20:48I was happy with it.
20:49Yeah?
20:49Did you give anything away?
20:50No.
20:51Pokeface.
20:55Next to the pass, Cal.
20:59Saitas are there, ready to go.
21:00Thanks mate.
21:01What's in here?
21:01That is just rendered shallots.
21:04First caramelised shallots, followed by wild garlic scapes.
21:08You can do six of those Jamie.
21:10Potato and garlic puree.
21:11Three minutes Cal.
21:14Topped with a wild garlic oil and confit red potatoes.
21:19Can I do anything else?
21:19Yeah, you can just cover it in crumb.
21:21A fried potato crumb adds texture.
21:24Absolutely all over.
21:25More, more, more, more, more.
21:26The dish is finished with borage cress.
21:29Two minutes to the pass.
21:31Good chaps.
21:38The name of the dish is I am the greatest botanist on this planet.
21:42It's by Ridley Scott, the film The Martian.
21:44Explain this to us.
21:45So in the film, the only fresh food he had on board was something that they were saving for Thanksgiving.
21:50So he basically has that eureka moment and starts growing potatoes.
21:54And I see you've numbered the ration packs.
21:57Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:58He works out if he splits his rations, how long he can survive on Mars.
22:00Very well, fall free.
22:01Let's go taste.
22:02Yeah.
22:09I like it.
22:10Yeah.
22:11Do you want a little bit?
22:12Yeah, thank you.
22:23OK, let's start with the shallot jam on the bottom.
22:25Has that got enough acidity for you?
22:27Yeah, it does, yeah.
22:28You don't put any flavour into the very end.
22:29Essentially, you're caramelising those sugars again and again and again to get that lovely sort of caramelised onion.
22:34Gives it almost like a meaty flavour.
22:36I think it's delicious.
22:37Extremely rich, savoury.
22:39The potato puree, happy?
22:40Yeah, I love the potato puree.
22:42It's bang on for me.
22:43It's something that's quite high in salt.
22:45Really?
22:46Yeah, sort of.
22:46I think it's from the shallot.
22:48Maybe a little bit too high in salt.
22:51The pickled onions, the freeze-dried onions.
22:53Yeah, yeah.
22:54It's something you don't expect.
22:55I'd quite happily go to Mars if that's the food, though.
22:57Yeah, it's delicious.
22:59Anything you change on this dish?
23:01Not a thing.
23:02I'd give it an eight.
23:03I'd say nine because of the effort.
23:05I think it's an eight.
23:06I think it's a solid eight.
23:07What would you give yourself?
23:08Top marks.
23:09Top marks.
23:10Yeah.
23:14Ryan's up next.
23:19All right?
23:19Yeah, man.
23:20Paul like sick?
23:21Yeah, he said it was perfect.
23:22Give it a twelve.
23:23Yeah, twelve out of ten, he said.
23:24He said not tell you guys.
23:27A mix of oyster, enoki and shiitake mushrooms are pan-fried.
23:32So what's that?
23:33Is that just a tiny bit of scotch on it?
23:35And then?
23:35A little bit.
23:36It's just a little bit.
23:37It's like man in the iron mouth.
23:40Lentil and barley dal is first.
23:42I love the wooden balls.
23:44I love the wooden balls.
23:44I don't know the whole theme.
23:45I'm glad you guys wear glasses.
23:48The mushrooms are next.
23:49Mushrooms down the side.
23:51Ryan, five minutes to go, okay?
23:53Yeah.
23:54What's in this mix?
23:55It's some cucumber.
23:57Yeah.
23:57Spring onion, red pepper, a little bit of fresh coriander.
24:01Do we see that?
24:01Yes, please.
24:04Topped with a green oil and coconut flakes.
24:07Three minutes to the pass, please, Ryan.
24:09I think I'll be early.
24:10You happy?
24:11Yeah.
24:11Thank you very much.
24:19Very dramatic.
24:20Love it.
24:21It's called From Grains to Glory and the inspiration is the film Gladiator,
24:25directed by Ridley Scott, who's from South Shields.
24:27Let's go taste.
24:29I've got the mask.
24:29I love this.
24:30Can I keep this?
24:31You can, for a ten.
24:41All right, let's check it out, guys.
24:45I thought we'd better eat with actual cutlery than a wooden spoon.
25:08Right, let's start with the hero ingredient, the dal, the pearl barley.
25:12Are you happy with the seasoning on the dal?
25:14Probably could have gone a touch heavier on the salt.
25:17I think it's missing a bit of salt.
25:18Yeah.
25:19Yeah.
25:20The mushrooms, is the soy and the maple syrup there for you?
25:24I think probably I'd touch more on both.
25:26It probably got a little bit safe.
25:27It needs something on those mushrooms to sort of, like you say, amplify it, squeeze a lemon or something acidic.
25:32In terms of depth of flavour, is that how you want it to be?
25:35Yeah.
25:36I practise it that way and the flavour profile is how I've cooked it.
25:40It's so flavoursome.
25:41Mm-hm.
25:42With those spices.
25:43What score would you give yourself?
25:45I wanted it to be quite a hearty ball of food.
25:47I think it brings that.
25:49I think it's really wholesome, hearty.
25:50I think it's a seven.
25:51Yeah, I agree with Jamie.
25:53That's a seven.
25:53Seven as well.
25:55Uh, a seven.
26:00Can I give you something really fun today?
26:02Yeah, of course.
26:03Am I filling blood bags?
26:04Yes.
26:04Sick.
26:05Oh, my goodness.
26:07What a task.
26:08Finally, it's Waker to the pass.
26:13You OK?
26:15How was that, mate?
26:15Yeah.
26:16Yeah?
26:17Happy?
26:19With bags filled with beetroot juice blood sauce, Waker shapes her beetroot ta-ta.
26:26What have you got going on in the blood sauce?
26:28It's the beetroot juice and a mustard stock.
26:31What's in the bag?
26:32That is horse reddish tofu cream.
26:35Roasted hazelnuts are next.
26:38Waker, you look like you're going to be early.
26:40I'm going to be early, yes, Chef.
26:42How long?
26:43Oh, it's six minutes.
26:44Would you like your coffin straight on the pass?
26:46Yes, please.
26:48Then Yuzu pickled golden and red beet treats.
26:52What have you pickled the beetroot, sir?
26:54Mainly yeast juice, mirin and sugar.
26:58Nice.
26:59And red-veined sorrel for garnish.
27:02What are the crackers?
27:03So there are seaweed and rice paper and season with the chilli.
27:08Nice.
27:10I'm ready.
27:20Waker.
27:21Wow.
27:21Look at that.
27:23So the title is The Blood is the Life from the film Count Dracula.
27:27Impressive, eh?
27:28Right, I'll take the blood.
27:29Blood is the life, Paul, that's why.
27:38It is like blood.
28:03OK, Waker.
28:04Let's start with the beetroot tartare.
28:06I think I can taste the fermented tofu.
28:09Give you that savoury taste and a bit umami.
28:12Just a bit one-dimensional.
28:14Is the horseradish coming through enough for you?
28:16Is that the right amount?
28:17I can taste the horseradish.
28:20However, I think I can put a bit more.
28:22That tofu horseradish is lovely.
28:24Cheers.
28:25The cracker.
28:26I'm happy with the cracker.
28:28I think it's crunchy and I have a little bit of heat from the chilli.
28:31I like the cracker.
28:32I think it's got a nice spice to it.
28:34So if you were to score this dish?
28:36I hope it's a nine, but I would say eight.
28:38Why have you knocked two points off?
28:40Erm, I'm not sure if this is strong enough to beat their dishes.
28:45Er, six.
28:46Six.
28:47I think it looks great, but I am a little bit underwhelmed by it.
28:51Six.
28:52I had six in my head.
28:53It just doesn't feel finished.
28:55It doesn't feel like there's enough there to warrant it being a star.
29:01Yeah, it went pretty well, right?
29:03Yeah, pretty happy with it.
29:04Oh, cheers.
29:05Hello, chefs.
29:06Even though there was a lot of mistakes today and a lot of things wrong,
29:11I felt their narratives were excellent.
29:14It was a push to be up first, but yeah, I feel like I executed it as well as I
29:18wanted to.
29:18How about you?
29:19I feel really happy, yeah.
29:20I feel like they all have room to grow these dishes, which is a good thing.
29:23Yeah.
29:23So your scoring will reflect that.
29:26Yeah.
29:26It's not the start that they would probably want.
29:41Chefs, all four of you had good, strong connections to the brief.
29:46The dishes, however, it's a more complicated story.
29:51Jamie, for your dish, calendar chefs.
29:56I really liked your link to the brief.
29:58The sunflower seed ice cream was well made.
30:01The butternut squash soup had great flavour, but the soup cools down quite quickly, especially next to the ice cream.
30:10You had enough time and I feel you could have made something delicious like a nice bread.
30:16Cal, for your dish, I'm the greatest botanist on this planet.
30:22The link to the brief, outstanding.
30:25The confit potatoes, they were delicious.
30:29Cal, I have to say, this is the best plant based dish I've tasted on Great British menu.
30:38Ryan, for your dish, from grain to glory, this is another fantastic link to the brief.
30:46It's missed an opportunity to eat from the wooden spoon like a gladiator.
30:53OK.
30:54The barley was cooked really nice.
30:56Unfortunately, Ryan, your dish lacked salt.
31:00OK.
31:02Waker, for your dish, the blood is the life.
31:07The drama at the pass, fantastic.
31:10You focused on beetroot tartare.
31:13Unfortunately, just having diced beetroot and sliced beetroot, it just wasn't great to eat.
31:20The horseradish and tofu cream, I couldn't get any horseradish flavour.
31:26So, to the scores.
31:29Jamie.
31:32I'm giving you a seven.
31:37Jamie, I had the same concerns as Paul about your dish, but you brought it together so beautifully on the
31:42plate, you really did.
31:43I have one word for you though, bread.
31:45Cal.
31:48I'm scoring you a nine.
31:53Very nearly perfect, Chef.
31:57Ryan.
31:59I'm scoring you a six.
32:04You must be kicking yourself.
32:06A lot.
32:07Yeah.
32:07Because anything that can be improved with your dish is so easy to rectify.
32:12Waker, I'm scoring you a six.
32:19Thank you, Chef.
32:20If you get to cook this again, you will have to work out what is missing, because there's something missing.
32:26So, Chefs, someone is going to be leaving us after this next course, it's imperative that you cook your hearts
32:34out and make his job a little bit harder.
32:36Yeah.
32:37It can always be a bit better.
32:39We can always push a bit harder.
32:41Okay?
32:41Yep.
32:42Yes, Chefs.
32:42See you on the fish course.
32:44Well done, Chefs.
32:45Well done, you, Chefs.
32:45Yes, well done, yeah.
32:53I think he was fair with the scoring.
32:55Obviously, I would have liked more.
32:57Cal, at the minute, is obviously my biggest competition.
33:00I don't think anyone's ever safe.
33:02Not at this point in the competition.
33:03Not on fish.
33:04I have to put my heart and soul into the fish course to be able to stay in the competition.
33:13I think I went safe on the last course.
33:16I've got to put that starter in the box and just concentrate on doing the best job I can for
33:20the fish course.
33:21With one chef leaving the competition after this course, they'll need to impress Paul with their fish cookery.
33:27And that is not easy.
33:31I'm going to slice the fish and get this marinated.
33:37So, I'll just whip the monkfish fillet off.
33:39Once that's curing, I'll start making the sauce.
33:42I think I'm going to do salt, though.
33:44Then I'll get on to fish.
33:46I've just rosting off some plantains.
33:49We're doing the same dish, aren't we?
33:50All right, that's cool.
33:52In joint third place...
33:54Hey, hey, hey, hey.
33:56Ryan.
33:57How are you feeling, Chef?
33:58All right.
33:59A little bit disappointed after the first round, but...
34:02Put it behind you, Chef.
34:03What are you cooking?
34:03The inspiration is Jimmy Mistry.
34:06Oh.
34:06He was born in Scarborough.
34:07And I'm using Easter's East as a link.
34:11Great film.
34:11The dish is called Carnes Fishlot after the family chip shop.
34:15So, I'm doing a mackerel.
34:16I'm going to confit it in some ghee, some spiced ghee.
34:18Making some hashed chips.
34:20And then we've got some callaloo to replace mushy peas.
34:24Planting ketchup.
34:25And I've got some ground flour scraps to go across the top.
34:28Chips are going to be more of like a hash.
34:31So, I've made a hash and I'll cut them into chips.
34:33What's your biggest worry?
34:35Pressing the chips to make sure that they get the right...
34:38And they don't fall apart in the fryer.
34:40Yeah.
34:40Yeah.
34:42Beautiful bit of monkfish.
34:44Yeah, it's great, that.
34:46Also in the bottom too...
34:48What I need is soy sauce.
34:50Waker.
34:50Tell us all about your fish course.
34:52So, the title is A Leap from the Dust.
34:54And the inspiration is from the film Billy Elliot.
34:58Oh, I love Billy Elliot.
34:59I love this film because it's about the mining community and they went through the crisis and they still push
35:07through.
35:08And you have a personal connection to mining.
35:10Both of my parents work for a mining company and so I understand the whole period of the mining crisis.
35:17So, you've got this beautiful halibut.
35:19How are you going to cook this?
35:21So, this I've sliced into some very thin slice like sashimi.
35:25Yeah.
35:26Marinade.
35:27So, this goes to the congee last minute to stay really, really tender.
35:32Yeah.
35:32And this piece of fish already wrapped in this miso paste and wrapped in the nori sheets.
35:42And this piece of fish gonna cook on the open charcoal fire.
35:47I love congee.
35:49It's one of, like, texturally, it's just one of the most soothing things in the world.
35:54Yes.
35:54What's the other elements if it was on the menu?
35:57Pickled daikon.
35:58Yeah.
35:59And I have homemade kimchi as well.
36:01I'm making blackened cauliflower and my turkey tempura.
36:06Good luck, chef.
36:08A savoury rice porridge, congee is widely eaten across Asia.
36:13This congee gonna carry on cooking for quite a while to get it really soft overcooked rice.
36:25This is just a cure going on.
36:26I'll just leave it covered in it to sort of draw all the moisture out.
36:30All right, tell us about your dish, chef.
36:32So the dish is called Bloodlust, inspired by Dracula and his connections with Whitby.
36:37So we have a beautiful piece of monkfish, which I've dry cured.
36:41I'm gonna blacken on the plancha quite heavily, served with a tasty paste.
36:46And then I'm making a sauce, and then I'm gonna thicken that with pig's blood at the very last seconds.
36:51What's the most challenging thing?
36:52Getting the sauce right, a little bit too warm, and you'll end up with, like, curdled black pudding.
36:56You look alive, head down.
36:59There for a fight.
36:59Yeah, good man.
37:01Because the lyrics are so big, I've just banged it in half, gonna cook half at a time.
37:06Cal, leader of the pack, is also serving monkfish.
37:09Talk to us about your fish, Cal.
37:11My fish course is called Black and White Newcastle, based on one of the first ever film noir on the
37:16night of the fire.
37:17It was filmed in Newcastle in 1939.
37:20I wanted to do a completely black and white dish, so that's what I've done.
37:23So, you've got horseradish sauce, salt-baked celeriac.
37:27Yeah.
37:29Monkfish poached in an oil made from the smoked bones, and then a charcoal tempura monkfish cheek.
37:35And caviar.
37:37With his salt-encrusted celeriac into bake, Cal prepares his monkfish to be poached in oil made with roasted monkfish
37:44bones.
37:46One portion, two portion, three portion, four.
37:49Yes, yes.
37:50The link to the brief, again, from Cal, fantastic.
37:53I think the dish sounds brilliant, but when you're up first and it's fish, you've got to get the cooking
37:58of the fish just right.
37:59He's got a lot of pressure.
38:02World's smallest vessel and mortar.
38:05Jamie's focused on a black garlic and beetroot drink to be served alongside his monkfish.
38:10I'm just tasting it to make sure it's savoury and sweet at the same time.
38:15What do you think about what he's doing with his monkfish?
38:17Jamie's biggest worry is the pig's blood.
38:20If you don't get the temperature right by it being under, it just leaves you with that...
38:25Irony.
38:26Irony blood taste in the mouth.
38:28If it's over, it then curdles.
38:30I'm done with the backpack.
38:32Done.
38:33Wake has started on her daikon ribbon, which she'll pickle in mirin and rice wine vinegar,
38:37but she also has to focus on her centrepiece congee.
38:42I'm seasoning with salt and white pepper at the moment.
38:46And this is some shiitake mushroom to give the depth of the flavour.
38:51I love congee.
38:53And I love congee, but again, it's a bit like Jamie.
38:55It has to be right because if it's too stodgy, it's not nice.
39:00Making the base for the plantain ketchup and then get the plantain skinned and added to that.
39:08Ryan's dish.
39:09Yeah.
39:09What did you think about this whole thing?
39:10I really hope that he's practiced those chips because he's doing them in that hash Rosti style.
39:16If he hasn't pressed them hard enough, they are just going to fall apart in the fryer.
39:21With his Trinidadian heritage, Ryan was immersed in Caribbean food from a young age.
39:27In 2024, he launched the calabash tree in Sunderland.
39:31I've had a very different culinary journey.
39:34I was a firefighter for 14 years and injuries made me find a new path.
39:38I wanted to start doing Caribbean food.
39:40My dad was a chef, my mum's from Trinidad.
39:42So I started off doing street food markets.
39:45That grew into doing event catering festivals, which pushed me towards,
39:49yes, we're going to get a restaurant.
39:51And here we are.
39:52It's been a bit of an experience trying to bring a new cuisine to Sunderland.
39:57It's not been seen before.
39:58It's not been done before.
39:59If we did get to the banquet, it would mean the world to us.
40:03Probably get quite emotional.
40:05And it would also be a confirmation that we're doing things right here.
40:09Service.
40:11How are you getting on, mate?
40:12Yeah, good.
40:13Everyone's on the go.
40:14Just touching the monkfish.
40:16What about you?
40:16Fish is curing now.
40:17And then start charring it and getting ready to go to the barbecue, basically.
40:21Yeah.
40:22Wake is making a black batter for her cauliflower and mushroom tempura.
40:27Normally, tempura should be pure white.
40:30I'm doing this because I want to present them like the coal from the mining area.
40:37Wake has brought her signature Pan-Asian cooking to Yorkshire,
40:42taking the helm at Woodall Hotel and Spa in 2022.
40:47To be honest, I never planned to be a chef.
40:50When I finished uni in China, I decided to go to a country nobody knows me.
40:57I can start from scratch.
40:59I went to Australia and had two years cooking course.
41:04I just loved it.
41:07As a female head chef, it's hard, I found, to earn the respect straight away from people
41:14because I have to prove myself.
41:17But I take that as a challenge and always see how far we can go.
41:27So this is the seasoning that you've basically made your own for Akaki?
41:31Yes.
41:31Yeah.
41:37How's it all going?
41:38I think it's all under control at the moment.
41:41Yeah.
41:41I'm just very conscious with the timing.
41:44I don't want to cook my fish too early.
41:48Tried the furukaki.
41:49The spice, it was all on the bottom and the seaweed all on top.
41:54The two are sort of gelling together.
41:58This is the charcoal emulsion.
42:01So a fish is in now poaching in the smoked oil.
42:03And then this is the horseradish sauce.
42:04All right?
42:05Getting there, yeah.
42:06Yeah.
42:06Talk me through the sauce.
42:07Sour cream.
42:08Yeah.
42:08Oil made out of horseradish.
42:11Use a dashy base, so it's got a really high, nice salt content.
42:15It's intense, but it has to sauce the entire dish.
42:18See you in a bit, all right?
42:18Thanks, Chef.
42:20Just been to see Cal and tasted his horseradish sauce.
42:23It's intense, but that's not worrying me.
42:26But he has got to get the balance right.
42:30With his monkfish on the barbecue, Jamie's now onto his black garlic tasty paste.
42:35You okay?
42:35Yeah, good, thank you.
42:36Tasty paste?
42:37Yes.
42:38Excellent.
42:38Been looking forward to this.
42:43And how are you going to serve this on the dish?
42:45Is it sort of like a little sort of dollop on the plate?
42:48Yeah, so like a tiny little teaspoon quenelle.
42:50Right.
42:50See you in a bit.
42:53Big fan of black garlic.
42:54It really, really packs a punch.
42:58Jamie's carefully tending his monkfish.
43:01So I've just blackened it on the plancher heavily, and then I'm just taking it on and off, on and
43:05off, brushing it with a little bit of dashy butter.
43:06Ryan's onto his rusty style chips.
43:09After squeezing out the excess potato starch, the mix was moulded, then weighed down to compress it.
43:16But he's got a problem.
43:19Basically, I've just grated the potato, seasoned it, and missed the step of baking it.
43:23So I'm going to slice them down into the chips, bake them as a smaller option, and then fry them.
43:30Having forgotten this vital step, Ryan's now got to try and bake them so they firm up and don't disintegrate
43:37in the fryer.
43:39Three minutes on fish.
43:41First to the pass, Cal.
43:43He gives his monkfish a light char on the barbecue.
43:47How you doing, Cal?
43:48Yeah, really good.
43:49His black tempura monkfish cheeks are deep fried.
43:53You've got three minutes, right?
43:55Cal's got to concentrate on nailing the balance of flavours, particularly as he's serving a pungent horseradish sauce.
44:02Black apple gastrique is added with slivers of radish.
44:07Beautiful fish.
44:08Yeah, nice and...
44:09Couple minutes, I'll be up.
44:13What is that, powder, chef?
44:14Just a bit of vinegar powder.
44:18Charcoal emulsion.
44:19If you just follow, you see where there's a little dot of emulsion on all five, just the black side
44:23of those flowers.
44:26And caviar to finish.
44:28Looks incredible, Cal.
44:34Stanley.
44:35The total dish is black and white. Newcastle.
44:38Cal, let's go eat.
44:39Let's do it.
44:39Yeah.
44:58Cal, let's start with the monkfish.
44:59Happy with the cooking on the monkfish?
45:01Yeah, nice and pearlescent.
45:03Then can the fish just touch under.
45:07The tempura.
45:08Mm-hmm.
45:08The crispness.
45:10Yeah, super crispy.
45:10I find the tempura slightly oily, maybe.
45:14It's an intense sauce.
45:15Yeah.
45:16Have you got the balance of the sauce on the dish when you eat it with everything else?
45:20I think so.
45:21I think the balance is there.
45:22I think I've got a little bit more, because of that sort of oomph, that spice.
45:25The emotion, you please with how that comes into the dish.
45:29Yeah, the main bit of that is actually right at the bottom.
45:32It's under the celeriac.
45:33So, as you press it down and cut through it all, you're going to get it on everything.
45:36I love the flavours going through the dish.
45:37Definitely.
45:38OK, let's get some scores.
45:40Nine.
45:40I would go an eight.
45:42I'll say eight as well.
45:43If you were to score this dish, what would you give?
45:45I came in to show wanting an eight or a nine out of this.
45:52Let's go.
45:53Fish is going to carve.
45:54Next to serve, Jamie.
45:58Happy?
45:59I didn't ask for a ten, but I wanted to.
46:02Whilst his monkfish finishes cooking...
46:04Looks stunning.
46:05..he works on his sauce made with fish stock, tomato puree, dill and kelp.
46:11How's that monkfish treating you, Jamie?
46:13Yeah, good.
46:13Yeah?
46:14I'm happy with it.
46:15Going to carve it in a second.
46:17How's your sauce?
46:17Ready for the blood.
46:18Have you got enough petals there to cover it?
46:20Two or three each?
46:21Yeah, two or three.
46:22I've got a few more here.
46:23First, tasty paste covered in barbecued rose petals.
46:27Jamie carves the monkfish.
46:29Looks beautiful.
46:30Beautiful, chef.
46:31Just sauce now.
46:32And finishes his sauce with the pig's blood.
46:35Oh, wow, look at that.
46:36He needs to make sure he takes the sauce to a high enough temperature so it's safe to eat.
46:42Jamie, two minutes to the pass, chef.
46:44But not too much so it curdles.
46:47We are ready for you, chef.
46:51And the name and inspiration?
46:53The title of this dish is called Bloodlust, inspired by Dracula's connection to Whitby.
46:57Yeah.
46:57Good luck, chef.
47:05Cheers.
47:07During Dracula's voyage to London, he always carried a vial of blood in case he ran out.
47:13I like that.
47:24Let's start with the monkfish.
47:26Yeah, I'm happy with the cook on the monkfish.
47:27I want that sort of like cooked crab, tear it away texture.
47:31The fish cooked beautifully.
47:33The tasty paste.
47:34It's naturally quite a powerful flavour but like a condiment almost to be eaten with the fish.
47:41Tasty paste is real tasty.
47:43It's pretty tasty.
47:44Yeah.
47:44The sauce with the blood.
47:47Were you actually going for like a sort of blood consistency?
47:50No, I think that's probably a step too far.
47:52I think it's got that irony note.
47:55I think if he adds one more, I think it would be great.
47:57I'm going to give it an eight.
47:58Yeah, eight.
47:59I think it's an eight.
48:00What would you give yourself?
48:01Not what you'd like.
48:02What would you give yourself?
48:04An eight.
48:09Are they good?
48:10Yeah, good.
48:11I enjoyed cooking it at least.
48:12Every element was super.
48:14I'm glad.
48:15Waker's up next.
48:17Winner.
48:18That is stressful.
48:20The pressure's on not to overcook both the barbecued halibut and the raw halibut when it's added to the hot
48:26rice congee.
48:27What's that, Waker?
48:28That's the halibut fillet marinade with miso.
48:31It's been off and on for the past half an hour.
48:35The barbecued halibut, pickled daikon and vegetable tempura coals will be served in a three-tier lunchbox.
48:42Three minutes, Waker.
48:44Can you help me to...
48:46Lay the fish?
48:46Yes.
48:47I'm laying fish.
48:50Happy?
48:51A bit more.
48:52A bit more.
48:52Double.
48:53Whilst Cal adds the raw halibut to the hot rice congee, Ryan portions the kimchi.
48:58I'm thinking the pickles are going to go all around.
49:00Just like a dress.
49:02The congee is topped with spring onion and crispy shallots.
49:05This is just starting to bubble a bit underneath, just to let you know.
49:07Yeah, just sort of simmering and let the fish poach.
49:11Waker deep-fries her black tempura cauliflower and mushroom coals, then dusts with the furikake seasoning.
49:19Just go.
49:19Crazy.
49:20Gentle!
49:21I've done so.
49:22One minute, Chef.
49:23She finishes her congee with chive oil, whilst Cal pays homage to Billy Elliot.
49:32Waker, you're two minutes over, okay?
49:34I'm ready, Chef.
49:36We love to live, we love to live, we love to live.
49:41Has the way to live, we love to live.
49:45Waker, how was that?
49:46It was intense.
49:46Okay.
49:47So the name is A Leap from the Dust, and the inspiration is from the film Billy Elliot.
49:53Beautiful.
49:54All right, Chef.
49:54Let's go.
50:12Okay.
50:13Okay, Waker, let's start with the congee.
50:16Congee.
50:18Consistency of the congee, how loose it is, is that what you want?
50:21Yes, I think so.
50:22Is the rice meant to be that soft?
50:24I don't know.
50:24Yes.
50:24It is.
50:25It is.
50:25That's a good texture for the congee.
50:26Yeah.
50:26The kimchi, is that doing what you want it to do to the dish?
50:30Because the whole dish is very rich, I want some things cut through that, and same as the pickles.
50:36The pickles are great.
50:37So when you have one, the fresh on your palate, when you eat the sushi, it does that exact same
50:41thing.
50:41The tempura.
50:43Happy with the seasoning on the cauliflower.
50:45It needs salt.
50:46The cauliflower itself, a bit under.
50:49The roasted part of the halibut.
50:52Is that the cuisson you were looking for?
50:54I would like to cook a touch less, I think.
50:58I think the fish is a little bit over.
51:00It's a real shame that that fish is overcooked.
51:02What would you score this dish?
51:04A five.
51:05A five?
51:06Really?
51:07Seven.
51:08I agree on this, Evan.
51:09I think the fish makes it a six.
51:15How did that go?
51:17All right, all right.
51:18Happy?
51:18Happy?
51:18It's done.
51:21Finally, Ryan.
51:22Gonna try one, isn't it?
51:23That one I can pick up.
51:24This, I can't pick up very well.
51:25That is all soft.
51:26Do you want to lift the basket out?
51:27Maybe layer them into the basket first.
51:29His biggest concern is frying the delicate, rusty chips
51:32that have been quickly baked to firm them up.
51:35I feel like three.
51:36If we get three...
51:37Yes.
51:38Two and a half.
51:39Whilst Cal and Jamie load the basket,
51:42Ryan poaches his mackerel fillets in ghee.
51:45I think we've got three at the minute.
51:48As many as you can, isn't it?
51:50Next, the batter scraps.
51:52What are you looking for?
51:53Just, like, little nuggets?
51:54Whatever you need to do to get it on me.
51:56Ryan, two minutes to the pass.
51:58Might need three.
51:59Is that okay?
51:59Yeah.
52:00Ryan, I think you should season them.
52:01Make sure you get it exactly how you want.
52:03I'm gonna get three more in for you just in case.
52:04How close are you to torching that mackerel, Ryan?
52:0620 seconds, yeah.
52:07I can have these ready in about a minute.
52:10Aye, aye, aye, aye.
52:11Anything else I can do for you, mate?
52:13See ya, prayer.
52:14First to the plate, mackerel fillets and the rusty chips.
52:17You're due to the pass now, Ryan.
52:19That'd be just one minute.
52:20One more minute?
52:21Yeah.
52:21Batter scraps, planting ketchup and callaloo.
52:28Happy with that much?
52:29Spotlight.
52:29Thank you very much.
52:30Just within the five discretionary minutes Paul can allow
52:33without deducting points, Ryan's done it.
52:37Inspiration is Jimmy Mistry.
52:39Yeah.
52:39Born in Scarborough.
52:40We've used a film of his, East is East.
52:42Yeah.
52:42And the dish is called Carn's Fish Slot after the chip shop in the film.
52:45How was that?
52:47Stressful.
52:47Let's go taste, okay?
52:48There you go.
52:49Well done, well done.
52:50Good luck, chef.
53:10The cooking of the mackerel.
53:12Rushed at the end.
53:13The skin's not well on it.
53:15I think it's a bit overcooked.
53:17I know the potato didn't go how you wanted it to.
53:21But the end result, the crispiness to that potato,
53:24is that what you're looking for?
53:25I did want the crispy chip, yeah.
53:27Yeah.
53:28That chip's mega.
53:30Plantain ketchup.
53:31Enough on there?
53:32I didn't want to overpower the fish.
53:34I didn't want you to get too much sweetness from that.
53:37The plantain really comes through.
53:38Yeah.
53:38It's quite a strong flavour.
53:39It is.
53:40Ryan, if you were to score this dish,
53:41what would you give yourself for this?
53:44Probably a six.
53:46It's not executed the way he wanted it to be?
53:49I would say it's a six.
53:50I think a six is fair.
53:52I think it's fair.
53:53Three sixes.
53:56You get the croissant bang on and then...
53:58Oh, here you go.
53:58Hello.
53:59How we doing?
54:00Yeah.
54:01I think I let myself down on that one,
54:03but thanks for all your help for chipping in there.
54:05That's all right.
54:06The ups and downs is that cool, so I'm quite tired.
54:08Mmm.
54:08Yeah.
54:09There was some excellent fish cookery.
54:11Yeah.
54:11For me, one standout dish.
54:13Do that.
54:13Is anyone worried about going home today?
54:15Hopefully not.
54:16I don't think I've done myself any favours there.
54:18They're choosing good stories to tell.
54:19Are they telling them well?
54:20It's probably the strongest group I've ever judged with the link to the brief.
54:27It's just about execution.
54:29The final part, though, you're absolutely right, Andy, is execution.
54:34Cal's in first place with nine, Jamie's on seven, and Ryan and Waker have six points each.
54:42Chefs, we loved the intention in the kitchen.
54:45It felt like you all gave something very personal to the dishes that you created.
54:51Cal, I'm going to start with you.
54:52For your dish, black and white Newcastle.
54:56I loved your passion for black and white film.
55:00The monkfish was pearlescent and beautifully cooked.
55:04The horseradish sauce, it's intense, it's strong, but the way that you just frothed it lightly, that's clever, that's intelligent.
55:14Jamie, for your dish, bloodlust.
55:18The link to the brief was good, but I wanted it to be a bit more dramatic, like Dracula.
55:25The way you cook the monkfish was brilliant.
55:28The sauce with the pig's blood, I really enjoyed this, but I wanted more on the plate.
55:34This dish feels like part of a larger tasting menu, but remember this is four courses.
55:40Be more generous.
55:42Waker, for your dish, a leap from the dust.
55:47The link to the brief and the narrative of the mining crisis and community eating was fantastic.
55:53Your cooking of the congee was just lovely.
55:57The raw halibut, however, needed to go on last second.
56:02The roasted halibut was what let you down, was overcooked.
56:06Ryan, for your dish, Carnes fishlot.
56:10I love the presentation.
56:12The mackerel, however, was overcooked.
56:15I know you missed out one of the steps for the hash chips, which was a shame, as I think
56:20this meant you lost that fluffiness in the middle.
56:24So, to the scores.
56:27Cal.
56:29I'm giving you...
56:33..a nine.
56:35You captured film noir.
56:37It's very clever cooking.
56:38Thank you, Ellie.
56:39Really beautiful.
56:54Thank you, Ellie.
56:56Jamie.
56:58I'm scoring you...
57:02..a seven.
57:04Paul's right, there's something missing from that dish, but that tasty paste was really very tasty.
57:10I liked it.
57:11Ryan.
57:13I'm scoring you...
57:17..a six, Chef.
57:19Yeah.
57:20So, Ryan, that means, unfortunately, with a score of 12, you're going to be leaving us.
57:25We have loved having you in this kitchen.
57:27Thanks for having me.
57:28You should walk away from here very, very proud.
57:31Learn from the experience and come back, because you've got so much to offer.
57:35Congratulations to you three.
57:37Main course next.
57:38Let's absolutely go for it.
57:40Thank you, Chef.
57:43You did well, you did well.
57:48I've said from the offset, I come here for 9s and 10s, so I just need to keep focused and
57:51keep these high standards.
57:53I believe in the way I cook and what I put out.
57:56I definitely feel like I'll be good enough to cook for the judges.
57:59I'm one point behind Jamie, and I think my dishes will get stronger and stronger.
58:05I think that was 100% the right decision.
58:08I've learned a lot. We met three great chefs.
58:10I'd love to come back one day.
58:12There has been some cracking cooking on display, but tomorrow I want a blockbuster performance.
58:21Faggots, Waka, where are those?
58:23I couldn't do faggot, Chef.
58:24Clearly you need more time.
58:26Waka, Waka, stay calm.
58:28Don't panic.
58:42Go on, go.
58:43That's great.
58:53.
58:59.
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