Original subtitles

It's the battle for Wales and our two highest-scoring chefs,

Georgia and Mark, are competing for a place in the national finals.

With celebrations of Welsh hits, Fireman Sam and SuperTed,

can the chefs win over the judges with their animated dishes?

Andi. Andi, down here! It's me, Ed Gamble.

I hope they get the portion sizes right.

Everything seems very big today.

Four amazing Welsh chefs have unleashed fire and ice

as they fought for a place in the final two.

Hot stuff coming through.

Can't control my excitement.

Cooking for the judges is our youngest competitor, 23-year-old

Georgia Summer in, head chef at Michelin-starred Home.

I'd love to win and get through to the finals.

It's just reaching distance now.

And North Wales' Mark Threadgill,

from the award-winning Portmeirion Hotel.

Bit nervous. Lot to do.

I just want to get going now and get cooking.

Today's winner goes through to the finals and the chance

of getting to our banquet.

My eyes are watering.

So tough.

Inspired by British animation and illustration, their food takes us

from the seaside to the Middle Ages and into the midst of a fire,

as they try to impress our judges.

Going through to cook at the finals is...

This judging clay, I'm excited to cook for the four new palates,

hopefully I'll impress them.

I really want this a lot.

I think I just need to concentrate on all my flavours and the cooking.

Just to nail everything down, to beat Mark.

Good morning, chefs. Good morning. Good morning.

How are we feeling? Good.

Nervous.

It's judging day. You've got a lot to do.

You're going to cook your entire menu again.

The slate is completely clean.

We're back to zero.

So today is a big day.

It's quite hectic and it moves along at pace. Yeah.

Feeling good? BOTH: Feeling good.

Louder! Feeling good? Yeah. Feeling good.

I wish you loads of luck.

Thanks, Andi.

Come on. It's North Wales versus South,

as they begin to cook their six courses.

So it's a busy morning,

this morning, I'm just getting my brine water ready for the fish

to drop down. I'm going to get my tomato sauce on the go.

A lot to do.

Georgia roasts her tomatoes to intensify their flavour...

...as Mark is looking to improve his unusual sourdough parfait

for dessert after it scored badly in the heats.

I've got the parfait going straight away and I need to

get my cucumber pearls clone, prep the fish.

He combines the cream with a sourdough paste, then mixes it

into the meringue and pulls it out to set, whilst Georgia

has readied a smoked butter emulsion.

So these are just my Pembrokeshire new potatoes for my fish course.

Mark's doing his nervous dance as head judge

Tom Kerridge arrives. With eight restaurants, three Michelin stars

and having twice cooked at our banquet, he knows

what it takes to win.

Both of those chefs have competed in Great British Menu before.

They haven't quite got to this stage.

So the nerves of this is still new.

But, listen, they're Welsh. They're representing Welsh produce.

There's fire, there's heart, there's soul, there's energy.

He'll be joined by Nisha Katona and comedian Ed Gamble.

Nisha is a renowned restaurateur with 16 Mowgli street food eateries

and even more in the pipeline...

This year's theme means the way the dish looks

becomes particularly important.

But always I'm looking for that incredible flavour.

WOO!

...whilst Ed loves his food and co-presents the Off Menu podcast.

Ever since the theme was announced, I'm just thinking we could end up

with a banquet meal that is cow pie, something themed on

Fungus the Bogeyman, and something else themed on Winnie-the-Pooh.

It's not going to sound delightful on a menu, but I'm sure the food

will be delicious.

With two of Wales' best chefs cooking, it should be,

as Mark roasts cob nuts for his starter,

and Georgia marinates turnip in oil

before chopping basil.

This is a new element that I'm adding to my starter.

It's a basil oil - just for a bit of colour and some flavour

to the dish.

Erm...

Mark is straining a buttermilk dashi for his fish,

as Georgia starts a veloute for hers, giving me time to brief Tom.

Hello. Morning. How are you?

I'm all right. Thanks, mate. How are you?

Look at this. Mint tea. I'm grand. Thank you, my dear.

How's this week been?

I would say one of the chefs did very well in the first half

and the other chef did very well in the second half.

Hopefully, they've taken on

what the veterans have given them as feedback.

Very interesting connections to the brief.

Lots of really good, strong Welsh storytelling.

As a brief, it sounds fantastic.

So much about food can connect you to childhood memories

and if the brief is coming in as well with similar,

I can imagine there's lots of nostalgic, heartfelt, warm dishes

that are connected to memories of great times. Yeah.

But above all else, amazing-tasting food.

Good food. Can't wait!

So how are you feeling about cooking for the judges?

Yeah, I'm excited to cook for them all, but also really nervous.

Yeah.

Both chefs are making changes to their canapes

after veteran Lorna's feedback.

For her Parmesan and red pepper quiche,

Georgia has rolled her pastry thinner,

whilst Mark is making his canapes smaller, as he bakes tuiles

for a crab Caesar salad.

HeY: Ell-IVS, how are we?

Very well. Torn, so nice to see you.

LAUGHTER

What?!

He has got a point, though. All right.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

We can't unsee that now, can we? No.

It's Welsh week, though.

It's not Wensleydale week.

Very, very true. And the Welsh have history of winning this competition.

Nathan last year, absolutely outstanding starter.

So, see what happens.

Great animation from Wales as well.

Fireman Sam. Yes. SuperTed.

These are the big hitters, aren't they, in the cartoon world?

Oh, nice and busy. That's what I like to see.

How are we getting on?

Yeah, all good. Good.

Yeah? Your canapes will be going out soon.

The guest judge is on the way, and you are absolutely

going to need to make a very good first impression.

Georgia adds Parmesan custard to her canape tarts before baking.

Because Tom has a shellfish allergy,

Mark can't serve him the crab.

For Tom, I'm doing a salmon Caesar salad with Parmesan tuile.

He begins to build his canapes with Caesar-dressed lettuce

going on top of the crab or salmon.

So there'll be a guest judge that we need to cook for as well.

Yes. We have no idea who it is.

Could be anyone. Who knows?

The guest judge they have to impress has spent much of his career

surrounded by animation, presenting children's shows on 54C

before going on to Blue Peter - it's Gethin Jones.

Hello! Hi, hiya. How are you? Very well.

So lovely to meet you. You too.

Nice to see you. Please take a seat.

This is such a treat. Are you hungry?

Oh, yeah. I'm ready to see what's on offer.

Are you proud to be representing Wales in the guest judge pantheon?

Absolutely. In the eating contest?

In the eating chamber, representing Wales!

Are you quite a foodie? Yes.

I've been lucky enough to travel quite a bit and taste a lot

of different cultures in terms of food.

But I think there is that sort of, I don't know,

I'll take a leek and potato soup any day of the week, you know.

Well, I don't know if we've got one of those coming. What?!

Are you excited about the theme, animation and illustration?

Yeah, that's reminding me of my childhood as well.

Like, and it's funny now because a lot of the characters

have been translated.

You've got SuperTed, but in Welsh that would just be SuperTed.

Oh, really? It's just quicker. You just say it fast.

Yeah. Because I guess he was quite a fast Ted, right?

That's a very good point.

What about Fireman Sam? Well, that'd be Sam Tan. Sam Tan? Yeah. Right.

And we had Sali Mali. You probably don't know Will Cwac Cwac.

No. No, you're just making them up now, aren't you?

Canapes are nearly ready to serve, as Georgia finishes her tart

with a baked Parmesan crumb, con fit red peppers and a herb salad.

Are you happy with your canape?

Yeah, I think so.

It shows me as a chef.

Slightly simple, but packs a punch of flavour.

Mark's going for his own punch with Parmesan, which he grates

over his Caesar salads, followed by crunchy Parma ham.

And I notice you've gone a little bit smaller.

Yeah, I've gone lower. More bite size. Yeah.

This one's Tom's.

First, the judges are tasting Mark's Caesar salad with crab,

or salmon for Tom.

All in one? Yeah.

Are we honestly going all in one? Yeah.

It's just a mouthful of Caesar salad, which is lovely.

It's refreshing. Yeah, really tasty, but it's quite cold. Mm-hm.

I thought it was great.

The Caesar dressing was big and powerful, but for me the winning

bit was the lovely tuile on the bottom, the crispiness.

What I can't understand is how they do it with the texture,

the crispy, it's soft and it is cold, but you can still taste

the Parmesan. As a single mouthful,

it was a bit big. You said "in one".

I thought, "They're trying to stitch me up here..." LAUGHTER

...but you went for it and I did too.

And I was quiet for a while.

But that's what you want at a party, right?

Everyone to shut up for the first five minutes.

Next is Georgia's Parmesan and red pepper quiche.

In one?

Love that. Mm. it just kind of melts in the mouth.

The pastry just disappeared straight away,

but this just... Oh, it's fantastic.

There was a warmth because of that pastry.

So you're getting not just a textural blend,

but also the temperature.

Yes! Very pleasant.

If I'm going to serve that a party, I would have a minute to kind of go,

"That was amazing." Yeah. I'd be following the person around.

I'd be following the tray around. Yeah. Go on, then, hold it up,

which plate you think you would go for again? The quiche.

Which is your favourite?

Unanimous. Yeah.

Just making a smoked foam.

In the kitchen, Mark is whisking up soy milk and smoked water

for his starter.

Happy with that.

Next, he marinates carrots in a fermented grain called koji,

which he hopes will bring out their flavour.

The dish will be served under little lights and, in readiness,

the chamber has been dimmed.

So the first starter is called,

It's a Fire! Call Sam!

Ancl it's a braised carrot with puy lentils, cob nuts and smoked foam.

Ancl it's inspired by the Welsh hit animation Fireman Sam, originally

broadcast on 54C in Wales.

Ancl the dish of course is vegan, so all the starters have got

to be vegan.

Actually, my first-ever TV show was on 54C. Cool.

But before that, you were brought up on Sam Tan and Will Cwac Cwac,

and animations because it was actually a really good way to learn

Welsh. Who's this Will Cwac Cwac guy you keep bringing up?

He was a duck. I'd say he was a duck.

In the week veteran judge Lorna scored

this an eight. She said that although the carrot crisps

looked like fire, they'd gone soggy.

The crisps don't quite work.

I just put it out more for the flame look.

But I think the carrot is bright enough for the flame so I'm

getting rid of the carrot crisps.

The crisps absorbed the foam, didn't they? Yeah. And they stopped being... They did look good, though.

Yeah, I know. What's the main thing with this?

Is it balance?

It's the balance of the smoke, the vinegar, the acidity.

It's a beautiful plate.

I reckon you can get another couple out of them

because it's really tasty. Hope so.

Mark adds smoked vinegar to puy lentils

he's cooked with shiitake mushrooms and black truffle.

And to add more flavour, he's braising his koji carrots

in carrot juice.

A braised carrot. You can do wonderful things with carrots.

Carrots are amazing, complex, deep flavours, fantastic sugar content,

super exciting vegetable.

You have four minutes, my love. What?

Carrot puree goes onto both the plate and the tops of the braised

carrots, as Georgia helps by continuing to whisk the foam.

Looks really fragrant, like last time.

He adds pickled carrots and carrot tops, then spoons curried lentils

into the bowl, followed by spring onion oil.

The first of the two Fireman Sam dishes.

I wonder which one they'll prefer.

He scatters the cob nuts he roasted earlier.

Last minute, Mark.

Thank you. Yeah.

And he adds the foam.

Do you want to hold the cloche and I'll use the smoker? Yeah.

Yeah, that's fine.

I got it.

OK. Happy-

OK.

# When he hears that fire bell chime

# Fireman Sam is there on time... #

That looks brilliant.

Diolch.

Are you going to wear that?

Yeah. Are we going hats on? 100%.

Gosh, that's incredible.

Oh, my goodness. That does smell like fire. Doesn't it?

That's brilliant. Mm-hm.

Mmm.

It's so delicious.

How do you make a carrot

so tasty and exciting?

I don't understand. It's brilliant.

The carrot has such a deep flavour.

Those cob nuts had such an amazing texture. Yeah.

And I think there's some little pickled carrots in there as well.

Mm. They're just that little bit of sharpness that it needs.

It feels really meaty.

I mean, it's a vegan dish, but... Oh, yeah, I forgot.

...the lentils feel like lovely texture you get

from stews and casseroles.

Ancl I think it's not even that the puy lentils

are kind of emulating meat.

They're stand alone, fantastic, deep, deep flavours.

It's balanced, it's good.

But I want a bit more of that carrot flavour, just a bit more punch

and then that soya foam, the sauce.

Can you taste that enough?

So good. I think Sam Tan would be proud of that... Yeah. Yeah.

Do you think Fireman Sam wants to get home from work and eat

a smoky-tasting dish?

Probably not. Right?

Next time I see him, I'll ask him that.

We're staying in Sam's hometown, Pontypandy, for Georgia's starter

as she mixes basil pesto into diced root vegetables,

then adds her roasted tomato sauce to make a rag...

I'm a bit nervous because, obviously,

this is my lowest-scoring dish.

It's called Sam's Lunch and is a vegan lasagne

with turnip pasta, cherry tomatoes and celeriac puree.

So this is inspired by the Italian character, Bella Lasagne. Oh, Bella.

Bella, who makes Fireman Sam's lunch every clay.

Oh! Grazie, grazie, you have saved me in my hour of need.

Veteran Dawn has scored this dish a six.

Her main criticism was that it was too simple.

So Georgia's added some new elements.

So I've got a basil oil just for a little bit of colour

and extra flavour to bring to the dish.

I'm also doing a vegan Parmesan creme.

Is that nutritional yeast?

Yes, it is, so actually...

It has actually got a cheesy smell about it.

It does, doesn't it? Yeah.

For her new crumb, she blitzes

the yeast with cashew nuts and garlic powder.

You have five minutes to the pass, Georgia.

Yeah.

She starts to build the lasagne with turnip then celeriac puree.

I'm going to layer it more like lasagne this time so that there's

lots of layers.

OK.

Georgia continues with the vegetable ragu and a second

layer of everything.

What have you clone differently to the turnip?

It's done a lot thinner.

I can see that. They were a little bit thick last time. OK.

You have two minutes to the pass, Georgia.

OK.

OK? Yeah. Should be.

Just get some of these tomatoes that I stewed in sherry vinegar,

just for a bit of acidity.

With the layers finally done, she sprinkles over the new cashew

and yeast crumb and then drizzles with the new basil oil.

She's made one final change by serving it in a lunchbox.

Wow, Georgia,

this looks like a completely different proposition. Yeah.

It looks great. Service, please.

Be very gentle.

I didn't even notice your hats.

You look splendid.

FIREMAN SAM THEME PLAYS

# Less than seven seconds flat... # LAUGHTER

They look over the moon to be wearing those helmets.

I'm glad it was them wearing the hats this time than me.

Oh, very pretty.

It's very Bella Lasagne. Mm.

It's a good lasagne.

You know, it's tangy. I'm go... The pesto is strong.

Is it absolutely blowing me away?

Not really.

I'm quite impressed by the bechamel element of it.

Being vegan is quite...

They've managed to recreate that quite well.

It's very comforting. Yeah.

And I can see why Sam would eat this for his lunch.

It's clever. The layering of the turnip is really clever.

I like the turnip bits.

I find the tomato sauce just a bit overpowering.

That's exactly it.

The overpowering element is the tomato sauce, isn't it? Yeah.

I quite like, though, very much the cashew yeast crumb.

You know, you get that kind of cheesy acidity from the yeast.

Yeah. if I got this in a restaurant

and someone said I'm having a vegan lasagne, I'd be really impressed.

It's really delicious. Yeah. But perhaps not necessarily for...

...for a banquet.

And just like that, we're at the fish course.

Next up, it's SuperTed.

For his fish, Mark is making little pearls

by tipping frozen cucumber balls into a gel of blitzed oysters,

their juice and agar-agar.

His dish is called Help SuperTed! They're Stealing Our Pearls!

It's plaice, poached oyster, cucumber and oyster pearls,

white radish kimchi, cucumber puree,

oyster leaf oil and buttermilk dashi.

And it's inspired by SuperTed, first broadcast in Welsh 40 years ago,

and specifically the episode

when he rescues the pearls from the oysters.

Can you swim, Spotty?

I'm not sure.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Oh, well, no bones broken. Blub-blurp-blub.

Buttermilk dashi. Am I asking an obvious question?

Dashi's like a broth. It should be slightly sour.

Not sour, but slightly almost yogurt-y, so it's that acidity.

That makes sense then, if you've got the kimchi. Yes. OK.

He's foaming up his buttermilk dashi right now, as well

as whipping brown butter,

known as beurre noisette.

You scored very well. What did you score on this?

Eight. Another eight.

Excellent score.

What was the feedback you got back from Laura?

She said she'd like a bit more of the sauce, a bit

more of the kimchi. And dial back the cucumber a bit. That's it. Yeah.

I'm just going to put the same cucumber but extra kimchi. OK.

What are you doing for Tom, because he can't have oysters, can he?

No. So I'm doing mackerel.

I'm not 100% but I might torch it slightly.

Yeah. I'll just put in rapeseed, though.

Why no beurre noisette for him?

Erm, I was going to pan-fry the beurre noisette.

I'm just...

I don't know, I'm just... I don't know.

OK.

To go with Tom's mackerel,

Mark prepares apple that he will pickle to bring acidity to the dish.

Mark's dish is looking lovely.

My concern is that he has to make changes for Tom

and he's removing the beurre noisette.

I think that is an essential part of the construction of this dish

and one of the flavour profiles that made it so successful.

He's not sure whether he's going to leave it in or not.

I'm hoping he's going to err on the side of yes.

As Mark continues by mixing cucumber into his fermented kimchi,

I've got a treat for him.

Both chefs have SuperTed dishes on their menus, and Georgia

has already met its creator.

Now it's Mark's turn.

Hey, guys, how are you? OK. Good, thanks.

This is Mike Young, the creator of SuperTed. Oh, wow.

We wrote, I think, a couple of hundred SuperTed books of one

sort and another, and then 54C came along and they wanted something

that would travel the world.

Ancl they commissioned SuperTed.

But how is this dish going, more importantly?

So it's the episode The Pearl Fishers.

He's made little cucumber oyster pearls.

Oh, wow. Mark,

would you like to make an extra plate for our special guest? OK.

Yeah? OK. Oh, my God. Fantastic.

That will be a pleasure. Thank you so much.

I think we should leave you guys to crack on with your work

because they've got an awful lot to do. Bye. Thanks, guys.

Just going to put the plaice in,

just want to make sure the temperature's right.

He tops his plaice with beurre noisette,

then cooks in the oven.

Mark, you have five minutes to the pass. Oui.

What's that going on in there? Mackerel for Tom.

So I've decided to use the beurre noisette to get the same flavour.

Mark starts plating with his kimchi cucumber puree, a few apple balls

for Tom, and some crispy nori seaweed and then drizzles

on oyster leaf oil.

RINGING That's me.

With the plaice done and resting,

he poaches the oysters in dashi stock...

just wash my hands cos of Tom.

Two minutes to the pass, Mark, please. Oui.

...before adding the mackerel to Tom's plate.

What have you got going on there?

So these are the pickled pearls for Tom.

The plaice is also plated.

That's it, and take the oysters out.

You happy with them?

I am. They're nice and soft.

The cucumber pearls are stuck on with more puree, and he foams

up the buttermilk dashi sauce, again taking Lorna's advice and adding

a little more to each dish.

It looks beautiful. Thank you.

Ah, they look great.

So this one's Tom's.

Thank you.

All right? Yeah. Thank you.

There we go.

SuperTed there.

Underwater SuperTed? Yeah.

Not even holding his breath.

Wow. Wow. Look at that.

So just clig in? Yeah.

Literally melts in your mouth.

Yeah.

SuperTed will be very, very pleased.

This is absolutely gorgeous.

Oh! Absolutely beautiful.

Clean, crisp, refreshing taste of the sea.

That kimchi is great.

The dashi is beautiful.

My mackerel is super tasty.

I love the level of detail with the cucumber and oyster pearls

just sat on top. It's so clever.

And just like the ocean, you don't really know what's underneath it. Know what I mean?

The broth is showing the sea, and then you dig in and it's like

there's a whole new world underneath.

You're right, it's actually quite breathtaking on the first mouthful.

I think I'm less keen. But it's...

It's that sea, you're overwhelmed by the flavour of the ocean.

I'm overwhelmed by the flavour of cucumber, to be honest.

The pearls are amazing. I don't... The pearls are amazing!

The piece of plaice was really good.

And when you taste the foam separately, it's really...

It's beautiful. Powerful, isn't it? Beautiful.

But when I had it with the cucumber, I didn't really get that.

No, Ed. You're wrong, you're wrong, Ed.

It is super tasty.

It's well rounded. It's delicious.

But it does feel a bit like I'm in a really nice restaurant,

not at a banquet.

For her fish,

Georgia is crushing the potatoes before shaping them.

This is to test my art skills.

Her dish, called The Important Message, is a take on fish and chips

with halibut, batter scraps and a curry mussel veloute.

Inspired by British stop motion The Adventures Of Portland Bill

and an episode where miscommunication in semaphore

results in a cracking fish and chip supper.

Lorna gave this a seven and said that the crust potatoes

didn't represent chips enough.

She just said it was a bit safe.

So I've tried to change up the plating. Yeah.

So I'm going to try and make it more into a chip shape

and crisp up each side to represent...yeah.

Because they were only crispy underneath. Anything else

you're changing? She said

the girolles weren't needed on the plate, so I've removed those.

I'm also serving it in a chip wrapper paper.

Ah! So they've got to unwrap it,

like... Open it up like fish and chips. Yeah.

She begins crisping up her crushed potato chips in oil and butter and

has sent some Portland Bill instructions to the chamber.

"Please use the traditional semaphore decoding thingamajig to

"find out what the name of your fish course is."

Left hand down.

Right hand down.

Right. So I would say that's that one.

Right? N. N. N?

Left hand across low, right hand up.

Well, I would go with an I. OK.

Right hand low, right hand out.

What is it. H?

So we think it might start with N-I-H. Hold on.

Left hand down or across?

Tom, I hate to say it, but I feel like the issue might be with you.

Thank goodness they're better at food than decoding.

As Georgia continues to crisp up her chips in the buttery pan

and deep-fries her batter scraps...

They're coming.

...she also cooks her brined halibut in foaming butter.

It looks like you've changed the presentation a little bit there.

Yes. just try and bring a bit of fun to the dish.

So not using the other props now? Yes.

So they'll be on the table for the judges. Ah, OK.

I'm sure they'll be having a go at it now. Hah.

Look, give me the decoder. This should be...

I believe you.

I just don't think we're having a dish called Nee-wb-ya...

Left hand down, right hand down. HE MOUTHS

Ancl, yeah, I would say that's left hand down.

Good. Yeah. I know. Or is that out, though?

I'm confused on every level.

Yeah.

Georgia, you have two minutes to the pass,

my love, OK? Yes.

Her crushed potatoes are still frying.

Coming along SWIMMINGLY.

Ah! Swimmingly. See what I did?

But finally, she's ready to begin plating with chips and fish.

All in? Half.

And Mark pours out the curry sauce.

You have one minute. Yeah.

Just popping the batter scraps on. Yeah. It'll be seconds.

Her new presentation has the plate sitting in life rings

and wrapped in paper, chippie style.

This one is Tom's.

Errn, I'm happy for you to go.

Service, please.

Oh, no. There you go. Ready? There you go.

Ready and chips. Ready.

So, first word's ready.

Left hand across low, right hand down. Low...

You've got right hand up. That's...

You got left hand across right hand. Have we got different instructions?

We've got different instructions.

But then the menu says this is all based on a miscommunication

in semaphore where they end up having

a cracking fish and chips supper.

I see. That's what it is.

Somebody somewhere is having a laugh at our expense.

Well, it better be worth it.

Thank you very much. Thank you ever so much.

Beautiful. Wow.

Thank you.

I'm very excited about this.

Look at the colour of that sauce.

The halibut is a beautiful piece of fish.

But is anyone else finding that that sauce is way too salty?

Is it the sauce or is it the potatoes?

It's both. Is it?

And 'R's such a shame. I'm gutted.

Exactly.

Maybe I've got a higher tolerance, but, to me, that's what getting

a fish and chip hit is all about. Getting that big whack of salt.

I'm almost disappointed that the curry isn't as curry

as the sauce you might get in a fish and chip shop.

I think it's got a nice bit of curry to it, but the seasoning

is just off, in my view.

You've finished your plate.

Finished my plate. I thought the curry sauce was exceptional

and we've erred on that.

The seasoning for that, for me, is spot-on. Yep.

The fish and the little batter scraps on the top - lovely.

Where I jump on and agree with Nisha -

the potato is over seasoned.

It's quite fatty where it's cooked.

It's taken on that greasy flavour.

The potato is actually a real let-down of what could be a very

simple, clean and superstar dish.

But I have eaten it all, so it can't be that bad.

Theme wise, I'm quite interested.

So far, it feels like we haven't quite captured the imagination

involved in animation or illustration yet.

There's not a heck of a lot of imagination

when it comes to presentation. Yeah.

You know, the props have been doing all the talking. Yeah.

Can I watch Tom do this again?

Honestly, it drove me nuts, that.

It was like a school exam.

Tom didn't do well at school.

He mainly got into batter scraps.

TOM LAUGHS

You're halfway already.

Yeah. How does it feel?

Relieved. Yeah.

Big, deep breath. You've got the big ones next.

Your mains. It's not time to take your foot off the gas just yet.

Yeah. Yeah? I'll see you back in a little bit. No worries. OK.

As they begin to prepare the main courses,

the judges are working out their scores and I'm heading

over to try to get a sense of which chef might be inching ahead.

Well, hey. Hello! Hello.

How's it been going in here, people?

Very good. Yeah, we've had some lovely, lovely dishes.

There's been some very good, strong

cookery, amazing flavours, some

punchy things coming through.

For me, there hasn't been anything super, super outstanding just yet.

I've had a few completely fabulous dishes here.

I've got some high scores.

There have been some astonishing demonstrations of skill,

I think, with ingredients. Andi, there's been a lot going on.

Like we've had a lasagne that was burned down in Bella's cafe

and then we've been to rescue some pearls, thanks to SuperTed.

You know, it's like... Exhausted? I forgot where I was for a second.

It's a tough job. Whoo!

Now you know how brave these people really are.

In the kitchen,

the main courses are now under way. Mark scores duck skin and puts

butternut squash in to roast.

Georgia is preparing pigeon and browns the wings for a jus...

...as well as sweating down shallots and beetroot.

I'm just making the beetroot puree,

just with a little bit less sugar.

As Spencer said, it was a little bit on the sweet side.

She stuffs the pigeon crowns with tarragon, thyme and rosemary

for her dish called |vor's Delivery.

Roasted pigeon, black pudding puree,

beetroot and pigeon jus,

it's inspired by the Welsh cut-out animation Ivor the Engine.

OK. On this bit of paper it says, "The inspiration for my dish

"was the episode Mr Brangwyn's Pigeons. Ivor the Engine,

"when he sings, could charm the very birds off the trees,

"or at least the pigeons off Miss Price's roof."

I thought I was listening to Story time on CBeebies there.

You do have a very soothing voice, Tom.

Thanks, mate.

The crowns go on to roast. Spencer scored this a seven, and she's taken

on board his comments.

So Spencer said to lose the ragout,

cos it was a bit sloppy on the plate.

So I've gotten rid of that element altogether.

I've also gotten rid of the mushroom in there. They said it was a bit

too earthy and to maybe look at replacing it with something

fruity and a bit sweeter. Ah, yeah.

So I made a raspberry vinaigrette... Oh. ..which I'll cook through the

beetroot and then dress to finish.

Oh, really interesting.

Yeah. Bit of acidity, bit of sweetness.

Yeah. Because the pigeon is quite rich, isn't it?

It is. It's quite rich. Yeah.

You'd like to score higher?

Yes, I'd like to score higher. What do you want, the big one?

Errn, a nine. A nine.

Go on, say ten. I mean a ten but...

We know you want a ten. You can hope for a ten.

Georgia stirs her black pudding puree and in a hot pan dresses

roasted beetroots in her new raspberry vinaigrette.

My eyes, they're watering from the vinegar.

Then she carves the breasts off her pigeon crowns.

Is that just the right pink?

Yeah. I'm just going to glaze them

back up in the pan with a bit more sauce.

So, Gethin, you've been in a lot of children's programmes.

Do you think that animation, illustration has helped with things

like children's literacy? I think we all know the power of TV.

You know, it's a medium that's really important as you're growing up.

In fact, actually, my eldest nephew has autism, and we found

that he would be quoting a lot of children's shows

as a way to communicate.

It's actually really helped him.

You know, like when it's visual, we probably all prefer it, don't we?

In a visual... When you're learning in a visual sense. Makes it

unforgettable, which is what we're hoping

from some of this food, really.

Two minutes, Georgia. Yeah.

Think you're going to be on time?

I'm going to start plating now.

First on is the black pudding puree,

followed by the beetroot puree.

What have you changed with that black pudding puree? So I've just

made it a little bit thinner. Yeah.

Just added some of the pigeon sauce.

Oh, nice.

Next, it's the roasted beetroot,

finished in the new raspberry vinaigrette.

You're due on the pass now. OK.

I'll need two minutes.

The pigeon goes in bowls and she's serving an extra breast each

this time to make the dish more generous.

Two each, nice.

As the smoke goes into the cloches...

Is that OK?

Yeah.

...the pickled beetroots are placed and thejus poured into jugs.

Service, please.

Thank you very much.

Oh. Thank you.

Wow.

I love that smell.

Ooh.

Time, she does fly, does she not? Yeah!

Are you happy with what you put up?

Yeah.

ED: Oh, yeah. Look at that.

Oh! The beetr00t's fantastic, I think.

The beetroot is fantastic. The black pudding...

The beetroot puree... Yeah. ..it's amazing.

No? I'm not a big fan. I've got to be honest.

The pigeon's skin's not right.

It's all a bit fatty.

I really liked that pigeon, Tom, and I really liked it with the smoke,

particularly. That smoke has really permeated through.

But it was a bit disjointed in its presentation.

You're having to move the meat onto your plate and things like that.

The thing that I feel quite disappointed with the most, I think

is the sauce. The pigeon jus

is actually a little bit wishy-washy. It is, it's weak.

When I smelt it, you get a big whack of tarragon in there

and then when it's actually on the plate and with everything else,

that just doesn't come through at all, does it?

When you get invited to sit here and eat, you expect it

to be absolutely world class, you know, takes your breath away.

But I don't know. I just feel like it's...

I felt like I've had this before, maybe. The dish tastes fine.

It's a fine dish.

It's not magic, though. For me, I'd say that pigeon was memorable.

But you're right. It's not banquet worthy.

Mark is making The King's Last Feast,

inspired by the Welsh Mabinogion tales.

It's barbecued duck, elderberry jus,

duck hearts, a red cabbage puree and butternut squash.

He had problems before with some duck skin crisps, so he's replacing

them with a new squash element.

So I've made pickled discs, so it's just going to give it

that extra acidity and crunch instead of duck skin.

He only scored six in the heats,

so he wants to take the dish up a notch this time as he starts flaming

his duck to get the skin really crispy.

The duck was a little over, wasn't it?

Yeah. So I changed the duck,

it's not the dry-aged any more, so it should be juicier.

Less time in the barbecue. Right.

The cabbage puree went wrong for me.

It was a bit wet, wasn't it, on the plate? Yeah.

I've just clone it right this time.

Right?! It's always good a call. Yeah.

Don't muck it up. And then what else?

I'm going to cook the hearts a bit further.

So not as rare for everyone. Because they were really raw. Rare.

Yeah, basically. Essentially. Yeah.

The timings, I thought, you know, it's like phew. So tough.

Yeah.

The duck goes into the oven and he purees squash that he's roasted

rather than pan-fried -

a change to bring more flavour.

That is my great Uncle Jeff.

What is going on here?

This is The King's Last Feast.

Not for the faint-hearted.

It doesn't say that. I'm just adding to the drama.

Inspired by the tales of Mabinogion,

this is Bendigeidfran, a giant in King of Britain.

He gets hurt in battle.

He tells his men to chop his head off.

So they chop his head off.

But he stays alive. His head stays alive.

So hence The King's Last Feast.

He's always feasting with his men.

At the beginning of this story,

I thought it was true.

At what point did it twig, Tom?

The bit where he got his men to cut his head off and he stayed alive.

For me, it was when, at the beginning, you said he was a giant.

LAUGHTER

I missed that bit!

Mark's duck is now finishing on the barbecue before being glazed

with honey, sherry vinegar, fennel and cumin.

When I did my main course, the duck was a bit dry, so hopefully

I've got it perfect. I won't know till I cut into it.

While it rests, he adds elderberries to his jus

and pan-fries duck hearts in butter.

How are you looking, Mark?

Yeah, OK. I'll sort of carve the duck now.

The cluck's a lot better. Yeah.

He reassembles the slices onto the crown and glazes again.

What's that that you're putting on?

So extra spice, just bring that flavour through. Yeah.

You have four minutes, Mark.

Oui.

The hearts are skewered and sprinkled with a barley,

sunflower and pumpkin seed crumb.

How are those hearts? Cooked.

Cooked.

On the plate goes the butternut puree with the squash fondant,

followed by the new pickled squash,

then the red cabbage puree

and the duck hearts.

You've got two minutes, Mark.

Yep.

The jus is spooned out and the duck placed on a bed of rosemary, hay

and thyme, which are smoked to give a medieval banquet aroma.

Oh, that looks fabulous. Yeah.

Here we are. So the cluck's facing this way, to the judges.

Service.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Lovely.

Thanks. It smells lovely.

The way it's presented looks great. It's beautiful. Nisha.

Do you want me to help? Lovely. There you go. A little piece there.

Brilliant. Thank you.

OK, young man.

Diolch, Bendigeidfran.

Thank you very much. There you go. It's good colour, isn't it?

Tell you what, it's awful what became of Will Cwac Cwac, isn't it?

LAUGHTER

Aw!

That red cabbage puree...

...is outstanding. Isn't it?

So velvety and so many flavours going on in there.

So smooth. Mm. The same with the butternut squash puree.

Ancl I know they're just purees, but what skill.

But I love that we get a really nice bit of butternut squash as well.

So you get the different textures. Mm. The sauce is fantastic.

That acidity, the fruitiness.

Each little elderberry

is like a little fun burst of surprise sharpness.

I love it.

Oh, the duck heart with the crumb on it. Mm.

What a great ingredient.

The only criticism is that there's not enough of it.

You're right. You almost want more meat, because I'm going to be

finished my meat before I get to enjoy all the bits around it.

It's a bit bitty.

It's not very big.

I think it could probably do with a little longer resting.

I think it's been roasted well, but carved a little early.

I love the way that the chef's done the theme, but I'd love to see some

example of the illustration, and I think that would help

contextualise the folklore a little bit more.

The big head is actually quite disconcerting.

Onto pre dessert and Georgia is creating parfait strawberries

for Be Careful What You Wish For,

inspired by Welsh animation short Drwgan, about a girl that gets

squashed by strawberry lolly.

And once again, she's taking Spencer's comments

and making improvements.

So I'm just dipping my strawberry into a strawberry compound.

Just to bolster the flavour.

Mark is making Little Lost Bear inspired by Rupert the Bear,

but he's having a few problems with his cardamom espuma.

Ohhh!

Once he's got the gun sorted, he pipes fennel namelaka

followed by orange ice cream into a glass.

Are you going to be on time, Mark? I am. Are you going to be on time?

Yeah. just going to dip the last strawberry and then pop

the leaves on. Yeah.

After dipping her parfaits in a cocoa butter shell, she serves

them in a strawberry punnet.

Mark finishes his dish with a layer of cardamom espuma,

puffed wild rice and orange zest before adding some Rupert trimmings.

Yummy-scrummy.

HaPPv? Happy-

Service, please. Service.

Oh, that's sweet.

Thank you.

First, it's Mark's Little Lost Bear.

The fennel namelaka, which is

like a kind ofjapanese ganache, is lovely.

I don't know whether it's just a personal taste, but I think

sometimes cardamom can be a bit overwhelming. Didn't get a huge

amount of orange in the ice cream either. I actually think it's

really quite well balanced.

I did get the orange, I did get the fennel. The cardamom - maybe

a little bit punchy, but I think that's really nice.

I think I ate it wrong.

How'd you do that?

I had a look at the top to see what was going on.

And so we've got all these overpowering flavours.

But then, when I had it all together, it was really nice.

I wish I'd eaten and then... Yeah. That's a good point.

I needed a manual. LAUGHTER

I know!

Next, it's Georgia's Be Careful What You Wish For.

My goodness. That's clever, isn't it?

Ancl so simple, don't you think?

It's just a strawberry parfait and it's very strawberry.

The acidity levels on that are lovely.

My only criticism is, it's a bit icy.

Is that...can you...is that...? It should be served

at the right temperature? It can be set like an ice cream, so it

should be smooth and creamy. Mm.

The shell is so thin and delicate as well, but it all

held together great. Right then, I thought they were both really nice.

Which one would you have again? Which one would you go for? Oh.

Hold it up.

Really?

Yeah. To Rupert.

Dessert!

Georgia is hoping to score high marks as she pours in

a new ingredient to some macerated cherries.

I'm just going to add half a tablespoon of Kirsch

to my cherries. Spencer said

it'll help to enhance the flavour on them.

So this is Nuts in Space.

It's on butter ice cream,

macerated cherries, cherry puree,

aerated chocolate and an almond tuile.

Ancl it's a dish inspired by Welsh superhero SuperTed.

Ancl the episode is the one where he recovers the nuts from space.

PARROT SQ UAWKS

Nuts.

There's no need to be rude, SuperTed. No, Spotty! Brazil nuts.

They get them from Earth.

But someone has been intercepting the rockets that bring them.

Oh. Oh, they must be starving.

Georgia scored an eight in the heats,

but she's having problems this time with her aerated chocolate,

as the bubbles aren't expanding enough in the vacuum machine.

I need to redo it.

She's determined to get it right as she gets a second batch in...

...before draining her cherries.

Hey, Georgia.

Hi. How are you doing, darling?

Errn, OK. Except I'm having a bit of a technical issue

with my aerated chocolate.

Just seems to be a bit warm, so it's collapsing in slightly.

That one's holding better than the first one.

So I'm going to try and take it out. So it doesn't have that height?

Yes. Not as high as what I'd like.

Deep breath. Don't let the chocolate get to you, darling.

You'll be fine. Yeah. Thanks, Andi. All right.

For a SuperTed in space feel, she's spraying vanilla espuma

into liquid nitrogen to make cosmic dust, and using the same technique

to make cherry space rocks.

SuperTed spent a long time rescuing foods.

He was a kindly soul, wasn't he? Yeah.

It's almost as if he knew that the Great British Menu was coming up.

Ha!

SuperTed crew. SuperTed crew,

you have three minutes to the pass.

Edible glitter is sprayed into the bowels.

Then she starts plating with cherry puree -

another suggestion from Spencer, who wanted more of it in the dish.

Tuile crumbs follow, with a scoop of almond ice cream.

Are you happy with the ice cream? Yeah.

Oh, no!

Holy Moley. Do you want another plate?

Can you just grab the aerated chocolate?

Where is it? In here? It's in the blast chiller.

You're all right. You've still got a couple of minutes.

Yeah, you just need SuperTed energy.

She redoes the final plate with the second serving of cherry puree,

then adds the macerated cherries with Kirsch.

Do you want to try a new cherry? Yeah, please.

Delicious, isn't it? Oh, yeah. They are better.

She's got just enough aerated chocolate from her second attempt

to go on the plates.

Can I have a time check, please?

One minute to go, Georgia. Yeah.

The tuiles are balanced on top, and the dish is served on trays

decorated to look like outer space.

The frozen vanilla and cherry is served on the side

after they melted in the dish last time.

Since you've taken that snow out of the bowl, Georgia,

this is suddenly more elegant in the bowl.

And you've still got your snow. Wonderful. Service, please.

Let's do it, people.

GETHIN LAUGHS That's great. Sweet.

The SuperTed capes. Well clone. Thank you.

Oh. Oh, wow. All right!

Oh. Softer than we thought.

There are elements of this dish that are absolutely delicious.

The almond butter ice cream at the bottom is gorgeous.

Stunning. And then whatever was in that dish, the vanilla...

It was the espuma. I thought it was popcorn!

When you first look at it, that is... That is brilliant.

I thought, texturally, it was great. The flavours of that were fantastic.

Just when it started to get too sweet, that aerated chocolate

was actually quite bitter

and really just took the edge off the sweetness.

For me, this is the dish of the clay so far.

A great bit of cooking. Loved it.

This was not my highlight of the clay.

I think it's quite sweet. The ice cream was amazing.

Elements were fantastic. But I didn't love the presentation.

I still don't think we've found the connection to the theme

that it needs to be to be at the banquet - yet - today.

But as a dish, absolutely fantastic.

Don't care. SuperTed. In space.

Looking for nuts to feed some parrots.

That's what that dish says to me. You understood that, didn't you?

You told me you loved it. I second that, Chef.

I'll be your Spot.

Now it's Mark's last chance to score well.

He pours an elderflower and honey mix into moulds to make

pate de fruits bees.

I've changed it.

I've put more honey and I've put some mead in it as well.

He scrapes the tuile mix into silicone moulds and gets them

in to parbake so that he can cut them into shape whilst soft.

So, final dish of the day.

It's Honey Sandwich, My Favourite. Local honey and sourdough parfait,

honey tuile, honey pate de fruit, raspberry sorbet,

raspberry cremeux, crispy raspberries.

And it's inspired by Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom, in the episode

where the king discovers that bees make honey.

Oh!

Now, sir, you got a six for this one.

Yeah, I know. You want more? Yeah.

Spencer had some good suggestions for you, didn't he?

Are you taking any of them on board? With the parfait, lowering down the

sourdough flavour... Right. ..by upping the honey.

Your tuiles are looking lovely. Yeah.

They didn't taste much of honey either.

I'm going to put a layer of honey on the parfait to stick these on.

So that'll bring up the honey flavour. Yeah. Good idea.

The tuiles get a second bake as he de-moulds his pate de fruit bees

and dips in black sugar, which he's turned into powder

after Spencer said it was gritty last time.

Are you happy with everything? Yeah.

The sourdough parfait he made earlier on is now set,

and he uses his tuiles to cut out perfect triangles.

Looks a lot smoother, the parfait. Yeah, I've passed it.

Put a bit more milk. Can I try a bit?

You can try one of the small stuff. It's still a bit frozen, but...

Yeah. It tastes really nice.

He brushes on a new honey layer to increase the flavour.

I don't want to put too much, because the honey's coming through now. Yeah.

So, hopefully I'll get the temperature right,

before it goes out.

In the heats, it was still frozen when served.

So he needs to hold his nerve and not go too early.

Wow.

You're looking very organised. You have five minutes, Chef.

Just want to get the right temperature on the parfait.

He puts his raspberry cremeux into the bowls.

Then, as soon as the parfait's up to temperature, he quickly adds

a quenelle of raspberry sorbet, crispy raspberries

and just a few edible flowers,

after he put on too many in the heats.

Stop!

SHE CHUCKLES

Service.

Here we go.

Oh, gosh, that's pretty. It's a sandwich.

It looks beautiful. It's really pretty.

It looks amazing, doesn't it? Yeah.

Mm! jelly's fantastic.

They sort of feel like two separate desserts to me.

I'm not seeing the link between the two.

One balances the other. The parfait, the sourdough and the honey.

It's quite sweet. And then the acidity of the raspberry comes

in and cuts through. Yeah, but I'm going back between...

Hard work, is it? I just want that decision made for me on the plate,

rather than... I'm not... I feel like a DJ of my own dessert.

It's absolutely right, though, Tom.

It just feels there's this real disconnect in the dish.

You know you're somewhere cool and posh if you don't really know

how to eat it.

I spend most of my time looking around, going, "What are you doing?"

My criticism would be that the cremeux and the raspberry sorbet,

texturally, they're the same. But one was warming and creamy.

The other was crisp and tart.

Yeah, I mean, the flavour of them is lovely, but they've just kind of

morphed into one thing, haven't they?

I'm not a fan of an edible flower, but I have to say, in this instance,

it makes perfect sense. Bzzzzz!

Yes, indeed. Bees, isn't it?

Banquet worthy - what are we thinking?

No, this isn't going to get to the banquet

But, yes, I would eat it. Yeah.

As the chefs have a nervous wait, the judges tot up their scores.

Who will represent Wales in the finals and get a chance

to cook a course at the ultimate occasion, our banquet?

Welcome, chefs. How are you both doing?

Tired. Well, it was quite a high mountain to climb, and you both

managed it admirably well.

Well clone getting to the end of the week.

The food - absolutely outstanding. For me, it peaked at the desserts.

Ancl on that note, who cooked Nuts in Space?

Me. So that dish, for me, that was my favourite dish of the clay.

The almond butter ice cream, I just thought,

was absolutely sensational.

Thank you. And who cooked the SuperTed fish dish?

That's me. I mean, you had me at poached oyster, and then that dashi

that you made was like diving into an ocean of flavour.

It was absolutely fabulous. Thank you.

As we didn't know who cooked which dish, we've given our

scores to Andi.

She's added them up.

The winner for Wales...

...and going through to cook at the finals...

...is...

...Mark. Thank you. Congratulations, Mark.

Nice one. Congratulations. Well clone.

It must be worth returning and getting to this point.

Going home is not a nice thing, but coming back

stronger is better. Did you cook The King's Last Feast, Mark?

Yeah. That was fantastic. That was one of my favourite dishes of the day.

It was really delicious.

The elderberries were just incredible.

And, Georgia, you've really clone Wales proud today.

The pigeon, which I thought was delicious, just showed a chef

that swings from strength to strength. Yeah.

For what you've clone, for such a young age,

you've achieved so, so much. Thank you.

As a Welshman sat here tasting this amazing food, it just flies

the flag for Wales. Llongyfarchiadau. Diolch yn fawr.

Have you enjoyed yourself? Oh, my goodness. What a pleasure.

It's been really fascinating.

Learnt so much about food, and it was just delicious.

So, congratulations to you, Mark.

I'm really, really made up for you. And well done, Georgia.

Thank you. Well clone, chefs. Well clone. Brilliant.

Yes! Really happy. Chuffed.

I've loved being back in the Great British Menu kitchen.

It definitely throws you some curve balls,

and I'm a bit tired now. Yeah, to represent Wales

is a dream come true.

I can't wait to get back in there and cook again.

So, Mark. Mark - great food.

Like, you know, I think, overall,

his dishes were just a bit stronger.

He was just edging ahead, edging ahead right throughout the day,

wasn't he? Apart from dessert.

Actually, that dessert. It was a very solid clay today.

To get a dish to the banquet,

he needs to step up another level. More detail,

and just keep evolving. Be bold, be confident.

Who knows? Best of luck for the finals. Thank you.

Cheers. Cheers.