Original subtitles

It's the battle for London and the South East, and our two top-scoring chefs, Avi and Robbie, are competing

for a place in the national finals.

They'll need to bring their dishes to life with fantastic flavour

and big characters, from Mr Bean to the Gruffalo,

from Winnie-the-Pooh to Paddington.

If it's not top-drawer, it won't get the top score.

So, Rastamouse, it's your region this week.

Is there anyone in particular you've got your eye on?

Hmm. Interesting.

London and the South East saw four incredible chefs

cook their hearts out for a place in the final two.

Rock and roll!

Through to cook for the judges today is the inventive chef patron

at Only Food And Courses in central London -

returner Robbie Lorraine.

I just need to bring my A-game today. Up the levels.

Calm and collected head chef at London's Pahli Hill-

newcomer Avi Shashidhara.

I am confident about my food, so I'm going to give it my best shot.

Today's winner goes through to the finals with a chance

of getting to our banquet.

Whoa!

Inspired by British animation and illustration,

their food includes odes to The Gruffalo, Fantastic Mr Fox,

and Alice in Wonderland.

They are phenomenal. They're not.

I think this is completely banquet-worthy! WHISTLING

But which chef will impress our judges in this,

the toughest of chefs' competitions?

The winner for London and the South East is...

100% I want to win. I want to get one of my dishes to the banquet,

so, yeah, I'm going to give it everything.

It would be a great achievement for me to represent London

and the South East in the final. I call London home,

so I'm really excited about it.

Hello, Avi. Judging clay.

Lots to do, Robbie. Let's get cooking. Let's go.

Good luck. Good luck, buddy.

Come on, let's go.

Hello, chefs. Good morning. Wow! Morning.

Yes, I've gone full sequins

for judging day. Looks wicked, looks wicked.

So, remember, today is a completely clean slate.

You have four brand-new palates to impress. Yep.

How do you feel? Very excited.

Ready for action? Yes.

You've both got some excellent dishes,

you're both packed full of talent, so you can't really afford to put

a tiny little step wrong.

So, I would suggest that you get your first jobs on right now.

Wishing you both loads of luck.

All right? Thank you. Thank you, Andi.

With all six dishes to serve to the judges, the chefs get ahead

with the most time-consuming jobs.

I've got to make a few doughs.

I've got to make some garnishes.

I've got to make some crackers.

So, I'm just getting on with it.

Avi starts with the dough for his Man galore buns canape,

as it needs time to rest...

Oi, oi. Here we go. Come on.

...whilst Robbie is preparing golden beetroot for his main course.

Really busy right now. Loads to do.

Just steaming into it. I've clone the sheets, now, of beetroot.

I'm just tying them, so that they stay intact,

and then I'll finish them off in vinegar,

ready for the beef fat later.

Then it's on to the crab sauce, also for Avi's canape.

He's preparing a crab-free celeriac version for Tom,

due to his shellfish allergy.

It's going to have a similar texture, just like white crab meat.

Robbie is also replacing the shellfish in his canape

with con fit celeriac.

How are you feeling about cooking for Tom Kerridge?

Does that intimidate you? Yeah, I mean, a little bit intimidating.

Tom Kerridge knows his food, he's looking for perfection,

so we can't afford to make any mistakes today. Absolutely.

I hope I've got all of mine out of my system. Yeah.

Maybe you might make some today.

With a total of three Michelin stars under his belt, Tom Kerridge

won't be easy to impress, and having taken his main course

to the banquet TWICE, he knows what it feels like to compete

in this competition.

I remember those times competing in that kitchen, and those nerves,

they really can get hold of you. Particularly now, with two chefs

that have not got through to judging chamber before, it may well

be a heavy weight on their shoulders.

The chefs concentrate on creating a good first impression

with their canapes.

Avi shapes and deep-fries the dough for his Man galore buns...

...whilst Robbie makes a start on

the main element of his dish - scallops.

It seemed like it was a bit of a struggle to eat in one bite,

so I'm just reducing the size slightly.

They're looking good.

Hello, love. Glitzy outfit today!

Yes! How are you?

I'm all right, thank you. How's your week been?

Interesting. Interesting. OK.

I think it took the chefs a minute to settle into the kitchen.

They're not that used to being in competition, but once their nerves

kind of settled, we got some really good cooking.

I'm quite looking forward to a trip to Darkest Peru.

It's lovely. Hold on a minute.

Is one of those chefs my mum? Fish, Chips and Beans?!

That sounds like my tea from 1983. It's your mum, babe.

Joining Tom in the judging hot seats are Nisha Katona and Ed Gamble.

Nisha is one of Britain's most successful restaurateurs

with her street food chain Mowgli.

In my view, London is the world's kitchen, so I'm looking

for really bold and arresting flavours, and that bravery.

And someone who needs arresting for crimes against comedy -

it's Ed, a hugely popular food podcast host.

Very excited. I'm from London, of course.

That's where I really fell in love with animation and illustration.

So, lovely to see some of my favourites represented here.

Pugwash. Pooh.

Nice that there's a Mr Bean dish as well.

Big fan of Mr Bean. Huge fan.

Hello. Good morning. How are we?

Morning, Tom. Very good. Big smiles. Why is that?

I'm hoping there's going to be some really, really good food.

It's London. And if it's happening in the world, it's happening

in the South East and London.

So, I'm looking for some really exciting flavours.

Ancl I'm excited cos I'm a London boy, a proper cockney.

Yes. Well, I'm excited because I also competed

for London and South East.

Tom found a loophole when he did GBM.

Cos he's not from London

and he doesn't really cook in London.

London and the South East. Marlow is in the South East,

even though my accent is not. I thought you were from Somerset.

Avi, how are you doing, mate? Yeah, I'm good. You?

Yeah. Good, man.

Hello, my loves. How are you getting on? Yeah, good. Good, thank you.

All right. Well, the judges are starting to assemble, and we've got

our fantastic guest judge today, who is from London.

He's an extraordinary illustrator and author,

so you really have to make sure you're getting those stories

on to the plate. All right? Yeah.

I loved both of your canapes. Tommy loved both of your canapes.

I hope that these judges do, too.

The guest judge helping to score the dishes today was

Illustrator of the Year in 2022.

He's illustrated 12 books, including the acclaimed Look Up!,

and authored two - one of them an award-winning anthology of stories

called joyful, joyful.

He's passionate about creating characters who challenge

race and gender stereotypes.

It's Dapo Adeola.

Hey. Hi, Dapo. Hi.

Good morning. Welcome!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Take a seat. Hello, Dapo.

Thanks very much for joining us. Thank you for having me.

We're going to eat loads of food. You up for that? Yeah.

Are you a foodie, Dapo?

I think I am, but I'm a creature of habit, so, like, I tend

to just eat what I like.

Ancl every so often I come across a new dish and I just add

it to the list. And you live in London? I do.

So, all different styles, cultural backgrounds.

There's so many different spaces to eat. What kind of things

do you like, Dapo? Huge fan of African dishes.

Nigerian food especially, because I am Nigerian.

I love Caribbean food as well.

Ancl Chinese and Japanese food as well.

Fusion dishes.

So, you like spice and a bit of heat and all of that?

All the good stuff. All the good stuff. Right. All the good stuff.

Two minutes, gentlemen. Oui.

They look lovely, Avi. Are you happy?

I'm very happy with them.

The right size as well.

Slightly big last time.

Avi garnishes with deep-fried curry leaves whilst Robbie adds

puff pastry and lovage emulsion to the scallops.

Last minute, please. Yep.

The scallop Mille-feuille is garnished with apple blossom,

and the Man galore buns are finished off with a sprinkle

of grated bottarga.

How are you doing, Robbie? I'm, like, 30 seconds away.

I'm going to be one minute. OK.

You are due at the pass, gentlemen.

This is for Torn.

Service, please.

Here we go.

That smells lovely. Wow. Thank you.

First up, Robbie's scallop Mille-feuille,

with a con fit celeriac version for Tom.

Very nice. Yeah.

Nice and fresh. The flavours are not quite punchy enough,

but, actually, texturally, I thought it was great.

I quite like that delicate flavour and I like the...

I like the crunch of the apple and the crumbly pastry.

I thought it was delicious.

Then it's on to Avi's Man galore buns with a crab sukka

and another celeriac alternative.

Give it a go.

That's delicious.

Some spice on that. Mm.

Got that lovely curry leaf that's deep-fried on the top,

so you've got that really haunting fragrance that persists.

And that acidity works so well with celeriac.

And the grated bottarga, I love bottarga.

I can taste the acidity that Tom mentioned as well.

Ancl it's not overwhelming.

Like, it's just nice. And that other one was very, very fresh as well.

So, now what we do is we hold up the plate that we like the most.

Both very good.

I mean, I haven't finished this one, but that's no sign

that I don't like it the most. There you go. There you go.

It's straight on to the starters,

and Robbie is serving first.

He fills samosas with a spiced carrot mixture, ready to fry later.

We're good.

So, the first starter is called Fancy A Little Smackerel? -

a braised and glazed carrot with a carrot samosa, and a carrot

and coriander cornetto.

Ancl it's inspired by EH Shepard's illustrations in AA Milne's

Winnie-the-Pooh, particularly the vegetables in Rabbit's garden

and the Hundred Acre Wood.

Robbie scored a disappointing six for his plant-based starter

after failing to impress veteran Tommy Banks.

Your hay-baked carrot was a little underwhelming.

Yeah, it didn't quite hit the mark.

So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to braise it in carrot juice

and a load of Aromat, and then I'm going to use the braising liquor

to make a glaze and just ramp up the flavour,

so it's got a nice sheen around the outside. More carroty carrotiness.

Exactly. Are you making any other changes to the plate?

Yeah. So, I've parked the lollipop, so I'm going to go

with the cornetto instead, which I think will be a nice kind of

palate cleanser at the end. That's a really nice idea.

Hoping this new edition will hit the spot in the judging chamber,

Robbie shapes and bakes his cornetto cones

and churns carrot-flavoured sugar syrup to make sorbet.

Carrots are good to go. I'm just going to torch them now,

I'm going to glaze them, and then I'm happy.

They're looking better and they're more vibrant.

We love your work. It's so different, so ground-breaking

and important. Oh, thank you.

What brought you into illustrating in the first place?

I didn't really see myself doing it as a career, but luckily enough,

a friend of mine, Nathan, is the author of our book Look Up.

He saw something that I didn't, in terms of the potential for my work,

and came up with a great story and I illustrated it,

and here we are. Did you go to art college at the beginning

and then move, or was it just...? No, I'm self-taught.

I did study graphic design in university, but it wasn't

what I wanted to do at all.

After the course, I started to teach myself how to become an illustrator,

and roughly about ten years later, I got published.

People always go with things like, "Oh, overnight success.

"They came out of nowhere." Ancl you're like, "No. A decade."

Yeah. Yeah, been here a while. Yeah.

You have four minutes, Robbie.

Yeah. How are you doing? I'm all right.

Robbie plates the carrots and adds beads of carrot puree,

before sprinkling puffed barley and pickled baby onion petals.

You got your lollipops today?

No. I'm doing a cornetto today.

How are they? Nice and crisp? Yeah. Lovely and crispy.

You've got one minute, Robbie.

Do you think you might be a minute over, perhaps? Possibly.

Just get it right. Yep.

Robbie garnishes with salad burnet, a type of leaf,

while the final few samosas are fried...

There you go. Nice and crispy.

...and plated.

So, Robbie, you are due now. Yep.

The dish is dressed with chive oil, and carrot sorbet fills

the crispy cones.

Beautiful, Robbie. Looks gorgeous.

OK. Service, please.

Thank you. Brilliant. Great presentation.

I think we need to go for the cornetto first.

I actually don't mind the samosa.

It's not a bad pastry.

It's got a nice flavourful filling.

The filling was delicious in the samosa.

Then you get to the carrot and I just feel it's a little bit

one-dimensional. And I nearly broke my teeth on... Is that puffed rice?

The carrot itself, I really liked.

But the puffed barley is a real issue.

The carrot was... It wasn't too crunchy, it wasn't too soft.

It was perfect. The biggest flaw in this dish, for me,

is it's just a bit cold.

It's just not a warming start for me.

I struggled with the cornetto. It's a bit too sweet.

There's a natural sweetness in carrots. I haven't got a problem

with the cornetto. I think the flavour is lovely.

I mean, they're sweet, Tom, but that's surely got

added sweetness to it.

I like the idea of the theme, the carrot and Rabbit from

Winnie-the-Pooh, but I'm not sure it's been quite realised

in the presentation. No.

For his starter,

Avi is making a mint chutney by blending fresh mint with chillies,

ginger and lemon juice.

Yeah, it's good. just trying to cruise through all my prep.

So, this is Scrambled Snake by the Lake,

and it's papri chaat,

delica pumpkin, mint and tamarind chutneys,

chakli, coconut yoghurt,

fresh tomato, and pomegranate seeds.

Ancl this is inspired by The Gruffalo, which is by

Julia Donaldson and AxelScheffler.

You got an eight for this dish. Yes.

It's a good score. It's a good score. Not good enough.

You'd like more. Yes. Of course you'd like more, Avi.

Tommy was looking for a few more zingy flavours from vegetables,

or a burst of that flavour of pomegranate every time

he took a bite. He also wanted a few more pumpkins in there,

which I'm going to add.

Are you giving them extras to play with themselves

or are you just going to put it straight on to the plate?

I'm just going to put it on the plate cos I don't want

them to imbalance the dish.

Right. Keep control. Exactly!

To make the snake from the title of his dish,

Avi puts spiced dough into a wooden press and deep-fries.

Chakli is something that you would have with your tea.

They're deep-fried gram flour, crunchy whirls, basically.

Slightly spiced.

And what a brilliant theme, though. The Gruffalo.

Fantastic book. Yeah, absolutely brilliant book.

"Where are you meeting him?

"Down by the lake.

"And his favourite dish is scrambled snake."

I know The Gruffalo verbatim.

You're a very interesting person, Nisha, because you quite often

don't remember what we do here when it's happening,

but you remember bits of The Gruffalo off by heart.

I think that's a long-term memory issue that I don't have. Yeah.

Avi, you've got six minutes to go.

How's it going? Yeah, really good, thank you, Andi.

I should be there on time.

He crumbles papri chaat crackers, tops with plant-based yoghurt

and tamarind chutney for a sweet-and-sour edge.

Three minutes, Avi. Yep.

Mint chutney, cooked beetroot, tomato and pomegranate are next.

Do you reckon this is a better version than earlier on in the week?

Yeah, I'm just upping the quantity of the tomatoes

and more pumpkin, more beetroots.

It was a good feedback.

I thought I should take it on board.

A garnish of coriander and wood sorrel.

Let's get the snakes on there.

Service, please.

Thank you.

That is amazing.

It's so delicious. This is like a rainbow of flavours and textures.

It's so vibrant, it's so alive.

It's great.

It's a really tasty bit of cooking, that. I love it.

So, you like it, yeah? Yeah!

It makes me smile inside.

It looks all soft and mushy,

like guacamole, almost,

and then it's just got this nice crunch to it.

There's nice sweetness as well.

It did just look like a bowl of guacamole, and yet

within it are a million flavours and a million textures,

and such excitement, you know, for the palate. It's just fantastic.

This is what plant-based cookery should be about, right?

It's not trying to do an impression of meat, it's its own thing

and it's using the ingredients perfectly.

Presentation, the boards, I mean, it feels very autumny.

Has it got a connection to The Gruffalo? Kind of.

So, knowing whatl know about Axel's colour palate,

this is it. Right. Interesting. Yeah.

The greens, the browns, even the oranges.

Yeah? Yeah.

Maybe for some people at a banquet situation, you need to be a bit

more on the nose. More obvious, yeah. Yeah.

Cracking on with his fish course,

Robbie scores his bass and places in a lemon and peppercorn brine.

Beautiful.

So, it's the first fish dish now, and it's called FishmeaL

Ancl it's wild sea bass, apple dashi,

fermented fennel ravioli,

apple and Exmoor caviar salad.

Ancl it's inspired by Captain Pugwash and the episode Fishmeal,

where he was swallowed by a giant fish, along with another pirate,

and they fight it out to claim the treasure.

Captain Pugwash!

Love Captain Pugwash.

Robbie trims the tail off the fish to use as a base

for the fish mousse, which will be the filling for his raviolo.

The seaweed cracker failed to impress during the week,

but thinking on his feet, he's found a way of keeping those flavours

on the plate.

I've just cut up some chives to go through my ravioli filling.

I'm going to put a little bit of lemon zest and then some seaweed

through it as well. Tommy felt there wasn't enough flavour.

I thought it was important to keep that element on the dish,

so I'm just going to up the flavour profiles.

NISHA HUMS CAPTAIN PUGWASH THEME

Was it that? It was that.

LAUGHTER

Didn't he have some interesting characters?

There's some urban myths that surround the names

of the characters. That's right. But they actually are not called that.

There was a rumour went around that the character

was called that ancl now everyone's remembered that the characters were called that. There were two.

He should rewrite it with those characters in it now.

You got a seven for this one, Robbie. Yes.

I think there's room for a few more points in that dish. Yeah.

A couple of tweaks and hopefully I'm going to get there. What's your

biggest worry? Getting that fish right? Getting the fish right.

Yeah, I slightly overcooked it.

So, that's the key part of the dish, innit? It's a Fishmeal,

so it needs to be bang-on. Yeah.

If I can nail that, then we're on to a winner. Wonderful.

Robbie, I hope this one works out really well for you. Me too.

The pasta, coloured using cuttlefish ink, is filled with the mousse.

I'll be there in a minute to give you a hand, if you need anything.

My 911V!

Fermented fennel is plated alongside sea purslane.

OK, Robbie, you've got three minutes, my dear.

OK. Are you going to be a little over?

Yeah, I'm going to be over.

The ravioli is blanched.

Robbie starts cooking the sea bass, but having overcooked

it in the week, he'll need to keep a close eye on it to avoid making

the same mistake.

One minute and you'll be due at the pass, Robbie.

I'm going to need another two minutes, please.

Avi finishes off the salad with apple pearls.

Did you want me to put some of the caviar on top? Yes, please.

And the bass and ravioli are plated.

Happy with your ravioli this time?

Yeah, I think I'm much happier, to be honest with you, mate.

OK. You're two minutes over, Robbie. Oui.

It's served with apple dashi alongside.

Dashi looks great.

Are you happy? Yeah. Ready to go. Great, send it. Service, please.

MUSIC: The Sailor's Hornpipe

Thank you.

Mine appears to be on fire!

Whoa!

That is nuts. I feel like I'm in a theme park.

That is so ace, isn't it?

Has anybody eaten a piece of that fennel yet? Mm.

That is so overpoweringly strong.

It's actually quite offensive.

I got a bit of the fish before I let the fennel

attack my mouth. The fish is lovely.

The dash I's tasty.

The dashi's really tasty.

Sort of the same issue with this salad.

I quite like the apple in it and I like the caviar, obviously,

but the leaves are just sort of dumped in there a bit.

If you get a spoon of it all together, the flavours actually

combine really nicely. And then we get into the dish itself,

the fish is OK, the sauce I think is delicious,

but then you're avoiding the fennel

and that's not really OK.

The fish was tasty. The fennel was a kick in the teeth.

The ravioli was nice as well, but it was just kind of plain.

The ravioli, for me, is one of the disappointing things.

The pasta is great.

It's got that cuttlefish ink that's gone through it.

But then actually when you eat it, the middle of it is really bland,

there's nothing going on. And it's a shame because the box came,

you opened it and it was exciting,

and it felt that we're really into that brief.

But then the dish - just nothing is tying in very well.

So, as a pirate, Tom, you don't approve? As a pirate,

this is not pirate-worthy. Mm.

For his fish course, Avi has made a significant change

to his sea bass.

I'm just taking off the skin because once it's steamed,

the feedback I got from Tommy was it was a bit soggy for him,

and I thought I should take that feedback on board.

So, the next dish is Fish, Chips & Beans.

So, it's a sea bass steamed in the banana leaf, with Jerusalem

artichoke and potato shoestring chips,

chickpea and fennel salad,

all served with solkadhi.

Inspired by the animated Mr Bean series,

specifically the episode where Mr Bean has his chippy tea.

I'm a bit worried about Mr Bean connected with food,

cos it doesn't normally go well for Mr Bean when there's food

involved, does it? No.

My favourite episode of Mr Bean is the steak tartare one,

when he orders that, and then he has to hide it in the plant pot.

So, we can see where the fish and chips are in this.

But where are the beans?

Is that the chickpea salad, I wonder?

I mean, that's the only other place he's got to put it. Yeah. Mm.

Avi is making a marinade for his fish from fresh coconut,

coriander, mint, lemon juice and ginger.

It's spooned on to fresh banana leaves and topped with bass fillets.

So, the banana leaf should have been softened before I put

the fish on top. It should have gone in the oven,

so it's a bit more pliable,

but, unfortunately, I forgot to do that.

In a rushed attempt to get around his mistake,

Avi blowtorches the edges of the leaves to soften them.

This was your lowest-scoring dish. Yes.

You got a six for this.

What were the issues that you had?

So, the beans element wasn't really coming through in the salad.

Beans were getting lost. So, I decided to change the whole

element of the mung beans to black chickpeas,

which also I'm a huge fan of. Oh, nice. Like kala Chana?

Yes, that's it. Lovely. The chickpeas with their skins on,

that's the only difference. Yes. I really like it in a salad

because it's got a really nice bite to it.

I love this new addition. Thank you.

So, you're hoping to get more marks for this? Yes, absolutely.

I think I've done enough.

Avi will have to hope the judges agree.

He cooks the chickpeas with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes are deep-fried for the crisps.

Next, it's on to the solkadhi, a traditional Indian savoury

digestive drink, which veteran Tommy Banks thought too salty.

Kokum vinegar is quite salty on its own, so I've reduced

the quantity, but it still keeps its colour and intensity.

So, I've added a little bit more coconut milk and yoghurt to it.

So, Dapo, the first book that you had published was Look Up,

wasn't it? Ooh, we've got it here, actually. Is it not?

I just want to make sure. Technically you're right.

The first book I had published in the UK was Look Up.

I had another book published in America which was called

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, written by Lamar Giles.

But Look Up was the book that pretty much got me into the industry.

Because the main character here is a young black female.

Yeah, it wasn't something that was depicted that much,

especially in STEM, surrounding space.

We really struck it lucky with Look Up.

We were just making a book, and for me, I was just trying to come up

with a fun character. She's based on one of my nieces.

I'm not supposed to say this,

but she's my favourite niece. She's so gorgeous.

She's so cool! Your favourite niece! Yeah.

Avi still isn't happy with his banana leaf parcels,

so he starts again.

I just thought I've got the time, I may as well just do them.

I don't want to take any chances.

In a change to his presentation, the solkadhi is served in

shot glasses and garnished with fresh coriander.

Fresh lemon and green marinade are plated, followed by chopped

fennel and chickpeas to finish off the new salad.

Avi, you have four minutes to the pass.

Are you happy with the changes that you've made, Avi?

Yeah, really happy.

It looks slightly simpler, but it's got much more flavour

to the salad.

I see you've added a lemon wedge, Av! Yeah.

It's a massive change on my dish.

I just thought it's nice if someone wants a little bit

more acidity on their fish.

You've got two minutes. Yeah.

How's your fish looking, Avi?

It's very nicely cooked this time. Great. I've cooked it only

for five minutes. It smells incredible, mate.

The bass is topped with crispy potato

and Jerusalem artichoke chips.

I'm going to put some mint on this as well.

That's the last thing.

Each plate is served alongside Mr Bean's iconic red tie

and his beloved teddy bear.

Bang-on time, Avi.

Well done. Thank you. Service, please.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Wow.

Hey, it's Teddy!

You're getting right into it, aren't you? Are we putting these on?

I'll tell you what, this is my kind of tie to put on.

It's the only one I know how to do!

Can you wear the hat the other way? You're completely freaking me out.

Look at you! No, I like it this way!

I went straight for the fennel salad. Mm?

You know, like, if you're worried about something, you've just got

to face your fears head-on? And it's delicious.

Very nice.

You could be on a kind of Goan beach shack, couldn't you?

These are really South Indian flavours.

Lots of coconut.

I think it's a personal thing, but I don't really like the solkadhi.

Yeah, I'm with you on that.

It's just not for my palate, to be honest.

Yeah, I don't think it's my palate.

I think it's a cognitive dissonance when I see that.

You're expecting sweet, right? Yeah. It messes you up. "Whoa!"

It looks like a strawberry milkshake.

But the dish itself is absolutely fantastic.

The soft fish and the delicate spice,

and then the chips on top.

Ancl I love the... You know exactly what the dish is themed on.

I love the hat, with the teddy wearing the hat as well.

I think that's a really lovely touch.

The chips aren't chipping for me.

Like, they're not... My chips,

they're a bit more solid than this.

Tom's not sure.

I don't know. I think it's delicious.

My fish is slightly overcooked.

It's a shame, Tom, cos mine's cooked perfectly, but that just shows

a bit of inconsistency.

And the dressing on the fish, for me, is perhaps a little acidic,

it's a little over-punchy.

I mean, part of the problem is that one of the first things

I did is put some lemon on it. Oh, Lord. Yeah.

But then don't serve me the lemon. Yes, that's a good point.

OK, so have I then over-seasoned it because you've given me the lemon?

Maybe that's the Mr Bean mistake.

Yeah.

Do you remember the episode of Mr Bean where he put the lemon

on the fish and it didn't need it? Oh, we all laughed, didn't we?

LAUGHTER

It's hilarious.

I'm getting a heads-up on what the judges think of our London

and South East chefs so far.

Hello, lovely people. Hi, Andi.

All right, mate? How are you, Dapo?

I'm fine, thank you, Andi.

We're so excited to have you here. Thank you for having me.

How are you, sir? All right.

I've had some things that have been offensively bad,

and then bland, and then... No.

Did you have a starter that you really liked?

Ancl then I've had a starter that I've loved.

I think everything that's come out has got a certain degree

of accomplishment about it, you know, and we're not getting

those dishes where it kind of is disjointed and making no sense

and anxiety on a plate. Which does happen sometimes.

They are bold. What are you looking for, in terms of storytelling?

You want something arresting? Well, that was the chest,

cos you're like, "What's in it?"

Ancl also with the theme with Pugwash and all that,

you know, treasure chest - perfect.

With the Gruffalo dish, the snake,

I thought the presentation was brilliant

because it was very much in keeping with the colour scheme

from the book itself. Yes.

The other judges didn't really think it was hitting the nail on the head.

Ancl sometimes with illustration, you're not supposed to hit the nail

on the head. Less is more, if that makes any sense. Right.

It's time for the main course.

Whilst Robbie grates purple beetroot for his quinoa croquettes...

...Avi is making a sauce by reducing Marsala wine and stock.

Well, I've just been in the judges' chamber.

They really appreciate all the hard work and effort that's

going into delivering all of these dishes.

How are your energy levels?

Took a bit of a clip after the fish course, just cos it was such a push.

But it's back up now cos we're going

into the main course. This is the big push. Yes.

Avi tosses girolle mushrooms in butter, garlic and thyme,

and chestnuts are simmered in Marsala wine

to accompany his main.

OK, the first main course of the clay

and it's called What's a Squab?

Ancl it's roasted squab pigeon with Marsala sauce, crispy pancetta,

chestnuts, roasted delica pumpkin, sage and quince jelly.

Ancl it's inspired by Berk's Squab Farm in

Wes Anderson's animated film Fantastic Mr Fox.

It's actually one of my favourite Roald Dahl books, but it's also one

of my favourite animated movies as well.

It's brilliant. Have any of you seen it? Yes.

Stop motion film. Fabulous. George Clooney as Mr Fox. Yeah.

You got an eight for this. Yep. First two courses,

you're reaching into your heritage. This is reaching into your training.

Yes. What was Tommy's feedback?

The skin wasn't crispy enough,

and maybe the leg could have done with a bit more cooking.

So, that's exactly what I'm going to do. It's a gorgeous dish.

It's so simple, I have to make sure every element is cooked perfectly.

Delica pumpkin is seasoned with sage,

whilst another earthy aromatic spice,

stone flower, has been delivered to the judging chamber.

What's the smell? This is fabulous.

If I'm not mistaken, this is stone flower.

Yes. You well-educated man. Mm!

That smells great, though, doesn't it? I know my smells.

What is a squab? It's a farmed pigeon.

Oh, not a...? Not one of the Trafalgar Square rats with wings.

Should be lovely. Plump breasts,

roasted beautifully, nice and pink, good fat covering.

Super tasty.

That's a sexy pigeon. Should be. Yes, a sexy pigeon. Like it.

Avi fries pancetta

to add a salty texture to the dish.

The sage-and-thyme-stuffed squabs

are lightly browned before being roasted.

So, I've put the pigeon legs in the Marsala sauce, so they cook

a little bit more and almost con fit,

but not in oil, in the sauce itself.

I'm hoping for it to be really tender.

Four minutes, Avi. OK, love? Yep.

Robbie, can you pour that sauce into the jugs, please? Oui.

How's the crown on that squab?

Yeah, it's beautiful. Very happy with it. It smells incredible.

You've got two minutes, Avi. Yeah.

This is the first time I've seen Avi really pushed at the pass.

Judging day has a way of doing that to chefs.

Next to his squab,

Avi plates the pumpkin and girolle.

You're due now, Avi. Yep.

Quince cheese, crispy pancetta and sage are added.

Gorgeous.

And Fantastic Mr Fox cloches finish it off.

Service, please.

Thank you.

HEIST MUSIC PLAYS

Do I need to take it off? Yes.

I love that. I love the music. I love the smell.

I love the look of this.

To me, so far, the presentation is on point.

He's absolutely nailed it.

What do you reckon, Ed? It's a tasty dish.

It's classic, classic flavours.

I love the squash on there, the crispy sage leaves.

My pigeon's cooked nicely. It doesn't blow me away.

The squash is delicious. I love the flavours.

I love the gravy as well.

The mushrooms are lovely. Everything else is nice,

but I'm not a fan of pigeon.

It's a wonderful autumnal dish.

Pigeon is beautifully cooked.

The flavours are great, the crunch and the texture.

But overall, if you take that away, we've got here

a fantastic pigeon dish that you could get in

any top-end restaurant.

It needs something else. It needs to have that that wow factor,

which it doesn't necessarily have. The squash is beautiful, though.

Oh, it's so good. But it's just not right for a banquet.

What we've got are some really well cooked elements, bound together

by a very nice sauce, but that's it.

I think we could have had some more things that transport us to

fox-based things - maybe a recording of some

high-pitched mating squeals or something.

I knew that was where it was going!

Robbie's next, and retrieves the slow-cooked short rib

for his main from the water bath.

Veteran Tommy scored the dish a disappointing six

earlier in the week, so he needs to up his game today.

So, Robbie, main courses. How are you feeling?

I'm really excited about this one. I didn't get a great score for it.

Made some rookie mistakes...

Yeah. ..when I was finishing my dish,

so I'm trying to eradicate all of those. Yeah.

This is Darkest Peru.

Peruvian spiced sirloin of beef,

short rib and marmalade sandwich,

beef dripping roasted golden beetroot, amarillo pepper,

quinoa and beetroot croquettes,

and aji verde sauce, which is inspired by Paddington Bear

and his Peruvian origins.

So, let's talk about that beef. Have you changed your methodology?

Yeah. So, I'm going to cook it completely on the barbecue.

Tommy was absolutely right. The texture wasn't right.

The smoky flavour didn't permeate it, so...

Get that bark around the outsides. Yes. So, what about that sandwich?

We were all a bit sad about the sandwich,

cos we were very excited about it and very looking forward to it,

and it kind of fell apart a bit.

Most importantly, I need to get my pan up to temperature.

So, getting that temperature just right, so it's golden. Exactly.

If I can get that right, I think you'll love it.

So far, so good.

You can see the link to the brief straight away just by reading it,

the Peruvian ingredients and the marmalade sandwich.

Also very on-trend, southern American cookery.

The spicing is bang-on, isn't it? Mm.

Also, anything that just has "beef dripping" in the title.

Yeah. It's very brave, isn't it,

to do for a main course, a sandwich?

I was thinking that. I was like, is it just going to be sandwich

with, like, a rib sticking out?

This is my short rib that I've been braising with

salt, pepper, a little bit of marmalade.

I've finished it off with shallots and some vealjus,

a little bit of thyme, cooked it out, taken it

off the bone, I've flaked it down.

Now I'm just going to press it between two trays.

While the mixture sets, Robbie shapes and panes quinoa croquettes.

Tommy's feedback in the week was that the marmalade flavour

in the sandwiches was too subtle.

I'm just buttering my bread with marmalade. I'm slavering a lot

more on this time to make sure that the flavour is more prominent.

The sandwiches are assembled, ready to be fried later.

To create his Peruvian aji verde sauce,

Robbie mixes mustard, egg yolks, lime juice and oil

before adding herbs.

Golden beetroot spirals are cooked in beef dripping.

And, following Tommy's advice, the beef sirloin is barbecued.

Robbie, how are you doing? How's that sandwich today?

No dramas with the pan? No dramas with the pan so far, my man.

Famous last words, though, right?

Having fallen apart earlier in the week,

this time round, Robbie has decided to dry-fry the sandwiches in

a hot pan first, and then cook them in butter for a crispier finish.

I'm much happier with my sandwiches.

My beetroots are beautiful. My beef has come off the barbecue.

I'm just going to finish it in the oven just to make sure

it's cooked through beautifully.

Robbie deep-fries his croquettes and serves the aji verde sauce...

You've got four minutes, Robbie. Yep.

...before topping his sandwiches with marmalade gel.

You seem to be in a much better place. I am indeed.

They are garnished with Peruvian marigold...

just coming up to the pass. Mind your backs. Lovely.

...and plated.

Got a nice bark around the outside.

See what we're dealing with on the inside.

Is that clone as you'd like it? Yeah. Looks beautiful.

Could do with a little longer rest, but the colour's perfect.

The sirloin is plated alongside golden beetroot...

You're due on the pass now. Yep.

...followed by amarillo pepper crisps.

Let's go. Yep.

Service, please.

OK.

Another bucket hat.

It's less Paddington, more festival when you wear it.

THEY LAUGH

Now, that is the sort of bread-to-filling ratio

I like in a sandwich.

The sandwich is fabulous.

That bread that's been fried, the meat, the sweetness

from the marmalade, absolutely everything you would want.

I think the beef is fabulous. I really love this sauce as well.

I'm struggling a little bit with the croquette.

I think the croquette needs the sauce.

It's just a bit dry. There's nothing to the croquette.

It's completely tasteless. Yeah.

It's funny, because every other element is really punchy in flavour.

Then all of a sudden you get to the croquette, and it is pretty

flavourless, unless you dip it in the sauce.

My thing is, I've never had marmalade out of context.

It's always in a sandwich, part of a breakfast.

But to have it like this is new to me, and it definitely works

with the beef, everything. It gives it that nice little zing.

I love the way it's been presented and I love the link to the brief

in the ingredients themselves.

The cooking on the beef is beautiful as well.

It's not too rare, it's close to medium,

and I like that.

In terms of, like, is it something for a banquet?

I kind of think, is it grand enough?

That's the thing. But I like it.

It's on to the sweet part of the menu, and the pre-desserts.

Avi makes pomegranate, passion fruit,

and chervil sugar syrups

for his shaved-ice palate cleanser, entitled Colourful Snowman,

inspired by the animation of Raymond Briggs's The Snowman.

Robbie works on his poppy seed tuile, which will be bloom-shaped

and topped with edible flowers to represent the children's animation

series Fifi and the Flowertots.

Two minutes for the pre-desserts, gentlemen. How are you getting on?

Yeah, good, thank you.

How are your tuiles coming along there, Robbie?

Lovely. Yeah, they're bang-on. just need to get my fennel meringue

into the bowls. And how is the meringue? I hope it's frozen.

It's been in there for about 15 minutes. OK. Oh, gosh.

"Hoping" and "frozen" - two words that strike fear

into my heart in this kitchen.

You are actually due on the pass now. Yeah, no worries.

I'm ready when you are.

How's your meringue? Sorted? Yeah.

Avi bottles the colourful sugar syrups, ready for the judges

to pour themselves.

And Robbie's gooseberry curd is topped with meringue

and the flower tuile.

Let's go. Service, please.

Thank you.

Cheers.

Avi's shaved ice with flavoured sugar syrups is first.

Here, Tom. You have a go with that.

That was cool! That was very cool. Like a Western.

Thank you, cowboy!

Mm.

I LOVE that chervil syrup. I think it's absolutely fabulous.

It's the passion fruit that's coming through for me. Really?

It's super tasty. It's really sweet,

but it's really refreshing and clean. And I just think,

what a great idea. Really, really clever. Yeah.

I can't believe that I've been bowled over by a bowl of shaved ice.

As a pre-dessert, it's sort of perfect for it. It is.

Next, Robbie's poppy seed tuile with edible flowers.

More fennel, Tom.

HE LAUGHS

Oh. Yeah. Your face is my face. It doesn't... It's not hitting.

What's upset you about this, Tom? I think it's the gooseberries.

I like the gooseberries. Oh, they're sharp.

I think the sweetness of that tuile balances out how sharp

those gooseberries are. It certainly did not warrant

a screwed-up little baby face, Tom.

It 100% did. The tuile is too sweet.

It's so far at one spectrum of sweetness, and the gooseberries

are so far at the other, there's no way that it can be harmonious.

Well... This is my favourite.

Yeah... This is my favourite.

Hold up your favourite. Which one's your favourite?

It's definitely the shaved ice. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.

How you doing, Robbie? The last stretch.

Yeah. Final push. Feeling good about it, Av?

Yeah, kind of.

Let's see how it goes.

For his final course of the day,

Avi makes a batter for his flour less chocolate cake.

This is Planet of the Clangers.

Coconut rice pudding planet, chocolate cake,

pistachio praline, and chocolate shards.

Do you remember the Clangers? They went...

SHE WHISTLES

LAUGHING: Didn't they?!

Something like that! It was like a penny whistle.

ASCENDING WHISTLE

Am I wrong? No, I don't think you are wrong.

But also, you know you look absolutely insane right now?

Yeah.

How much did you score for this, Avi?

Ten. Ten!

This is a wonderful dish.

I'm assuming you're not making any changes.

No changes to this one. I just need to get it right again.

I wish you lots of luck. Thank you, Andi. Let's get it.

Avi is filling balloons with the coconut rice pudding

before carefully flash-freezing in liquid nitrogen to create

a hard shell for his planet.

It'll be interesting to see how they get a coconut rice pudding

planet together. I'm quite excited to see that.

How are we feeling about rice pudding? I'm not a fan,

I'll be honest. Like, it's just...

These are all childhood trauma things.

THEY LAUGH

Big fan of rice pudding. Big fan of chocolate cake. 'Course you are!

Pistachio praline sounds pretty good.

I think that's going to make up for it, and the chocolate shards.

I think the coconut rice pudding's going to be nice.

I think you'll be surprised.

Chocolate cake is served adorned with tempered chocolate shards

coated in rose petals and gold leaf.

Five minutes, Avi. Yeah.

How are those planets? I think they're coming along fine.

I just have to make sure I get them out in one piece, really.

Seems to be a bit of a problem.

Rice pudding planets, now free of their moulds, are plated.

Looks incredible. Are you happy with the way they've turned out, Av?

Yeah, really happy. I think by the time they get to the pass,

they'll be hopefully the perfect texture I'm looking for. Yeah.

Is it just your praline to finish?

Praline and rose petals.

Oh, look at that.

Service, please.

Nisha. Yes! You got your wish.

Well, now we can see if your impression was any good.

ASCENDING AND DESCENDING WHISTLE

Oh, my God! That's amazing!

WHISTLING

Have you broken yours, Tommy, love? Yep.

LAUGHTER

How do you like that rice pudding? Awesome. Amazing!

Seriously. I didn't know rice pudding could be this smooth.

It's kept its form as well. Yep.

And so the outside is slightly more congealed, and it's got

a lovely chew to it. The flavour is fabulous.

Mm. Ancl the cake complements it very well, because it's not too rich.

I mean, it's almost a mousse, really, isn't it?

The cake is just... There's a skillset in this that's great.

And there's pastry technique that's really, really good.

I think it's amazing. And actually, I think the chocolate cake's great.

But my only problem is I think I've got two desserts,

but they don't necessarily tie together.

If you eat the chocolate cake, it's powerful, it's thick,

it's heavy and it's very, very dark.

And then you go back to the rice pudding,

and you can't taste anything.

You put them together, and they are phenomenal.

They're not. I think they are. The chocolate overpowers it.

I think this is... HE WHISTLES

WHISTLES, TH EY LAUGH

I think this is completely banquet-worthy!

This is not banquet-worthy yet - YET.

It's like we've walked round a buffet, an amazing buffet

in a beautiful hotel, and gone, "That pudding is incredible

"and that pudding's incredible. I'm going to put them both on my plate."

I love a buffet. Yeah, I know you love a buffet...

LAUGHTER

They're both brilliant... SHE STRUGGLES TO WHISTLE

That was rubbish.

LAUGHTER

ANDI: It's the final dish of the day,

and Robbie is whipping up a romantic chocolate delight

dedicated to his wife.

Pushing now. It's the final furlong.

So, this next dessert is My Queen of Hearts.

It's a heart-shaped cherry-and-chocolate-layered gateau

with cherry gel, tempered white chocolate, served

with a cherry sour cocktail.

Ancl it's inspired by John Tenniel's illustrations

of Alice in Wonderland.

Robbie previously scored an eight for his dessert, his highest score

of the week, but he's making some changes to try and snag

that elusive ten.

So, his feedback was that the cherry centre was just a little bit

too cold, and I completely agreed. Yep. just need to get it out of

the blast chiller and sprayed with enough time.

To let it come up to temperature.

Tommy had other advice for you, though, didn't he?

He suggested another component part. Yeah.

So, I've added a little bit of kirsch into my cherry gel,

into the centre, just to give it more of that Black Forest gateau

kind of feel to it. Right.

Robbie's gateau comprises layers of chocolate mousse, cherry gel,

chocolate cake and feuilletine.

And we're away.

Black Forest gateau, one of the most classic desserts around.

Chocolate and cherry. You get that right, it's magic.

And then cherry gel and tempering of chocolate.

There's a few areas here where we can see some real sort of skill.

I'm trying to envision what the Alice in Wonderland

inspiration is going to look like in terms of the presentation.

Yeah, this is a real opportunity for the presentation, isn't it?

It's about 30, 31 right now. Lovely.

Are you trying to keep it really thin, or...? Yeah.

As thin as possible, mate. Yeah.

Just make, like, an edible playing card. Nice.

The moulds come out of the freezer, but Robbie is struggling.

BLEEP

Let's go back in, then, with them.

Right, I'm going to be over time. My mousses haven't quite frozen yet

in the blast chiller, so I'm going to give them another five minutes.

While he waits for the chocolate hearts to set,

Robbie shakes cherry sour cocktails.

Ugh.

You all right, Robbie? My chocolate's stuck.

Right. They haven't come out.

I'm going to have to freeze these and remould them.

Try not to let it totally throw you, Robbie.

I know it's really hard. Yeah.

Robbie cracks on with his white chocolate playing cards.

With time already up, he attempts to salvage the broken hearts

by shaping them with a cookie cutter.

He dips them in white chocolate and covers them

with a red velvet spray.

They're served alongside the cherry sours and finished with cherry gel.

A kind of Herculean effort from Robbie to get

something on to the plate he feels he could present to the judges.

I'm a little bit heartbroken for him.

Can you get them cards back out, please? Yeah. How long we got?

Well, at the moment you're eight minutes over. OK.

Coming to the pass in two. All right, my dear.

HE SIGHS

Ready to send? Yes. Let's go. Service, please.

OK. No worries. Thank you.

This is not at all what I expected. No.

Robbie. Yeah. HE CH UCKLES

Cheers.

You know, I have seen some of the top chefs

that have been through this kitchen in that position

with that blast chiller. It's like a nightmare. Yeah.

What can you do? What can you do?

Mine's just slightly malformed.

I... Honestly, I'm looking at this and I'm going,

"Someone's had a nightmare here." Yeah.

I actually, without having any clue of what's gone on in that kitchen,

I feel a little bit heartbroken. Mm.

Nice cherry gel.

The outer casing is nice as well. Mm-hm.

But I'm not getting the gateau experience

that I thought I would be getting.

It's kind of split.

The fats have gone from whatever the gateau is at the bottom,

the shape is all gone.

How do you find your drink?

It's not the best, but, like, I just like sour tastes,

so I could just keep drinking that. Very sour.

Yeah, but there's no balance in that cocktail at all. Oh, no.

Such a shame, because there are some really nice flavours

within the elements, but they're lost within the chaos of anxiety

that is this dessert.

This is the problem where it catches chefs out so many times

with desserts. If you've got the foundation of something that needs

to be frozen, and if you've not got that initial part of it right,

then you're always chasing your tail.

It's like one horrible car crash right at the beginning

that continues and continues and continues,

and you can't stop, apart from putting something on a plate

that you think looks nice and send it out,

and then probably break down in tears.

So, it's been a push all clay but

I've given it my all. Didn't end the way I would've liked it to.

However, it's been a hell of a ride, man.

It's been a hell of a competition. Today was the icing on the cake.

We can only hope for the best now.

Hopefully, we've made London and the South East proud.

All right, let's see what the judges have to say now. Good luck.

Let's do this. You too. Good luck, mate. Thank you.

The scores are in.

Welcome, chefs. How are you both doing?

I'm good, but exhausted. It's been quite the week.

Yeah. Well clone, guys, getting to the end of the week.

I know from experience how exhausting it is,

so you must be pleased to have got to this point.

We've had some incredibly beautifully balanced dishes,

which is why I need to ask, who cooked Scrambled Snake by the Lake?

That was me.

What a dish.

It was the highlight for me.

Magical rainbow dish of delights.

Nine out of ten, I scored.

It was crispy, it was crunchy. The textures, the flavours,

so in balance, and it was beautiful. It was an amazing bit of cookery.

Amazing. Thank you.

Who cooked Darkest Peru?

Yes, I did. Fantastic dish.

Again, there were so many wonderful elements on that.

The short rib sandwich I think was a highlight of the day for me.

There was so much to enjoy in that dish. Well done. Ah, thanks.

Listen, as we didn't know, you can tell, who cooked which dish,

we've given our scores to Andi to add up.

So, the winner for London and the South East,

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

...Avi.

Thank you. Congratulations.

Thank you. Well done, mate. You deserve that. Thank you.

Well clone, Avi. For me, at least, two very, very strong dishes there.

As a first-time competitor, incredibly composed cooking.

Well clone. Well clone, mate. Thank you.

And, Avi, if I can say, I gave your starter a ten.

Thank you. Your chaat was incredible.

And it just shows that you are a flavour magician.

Honestly, Robbie, well clone.

Listen, when it comes to that dessert, I could tell straight away

that it was a car crash, it was a nightmare going on.

But, honestly, I had exactly the same problem when I competed

in Great British Menu. I honestly felt your pain in there.

So, I'm really sorry, chief, but you got to the judging chambers,

and well clone for the other dish, and the main course was fantastic.

I appreciate that. Thank you very much.

Dapo, it's been lovely having you here. Thank you.

Have you had a good time? I've had a great time. I'm stuffed.

LAUGHTER Absolutely stuffed.

I hope you'll join us at the banquet. I'd love to.

Please do. Chefs, thank you for all your heartfelt effort

and your endurance, in this case, absolutely.

Please go take a well-earned rest. Put your feet up.

Congratulations to you, my love, and commiserations to you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Well done, guys.

Yes! Did it.

I gave my all, and I managed to impress the judges.

So, it's been a long week. You know, it was totally worth it.

Really disappointed that I didn't deliver on my dessert.

But, you know, it's been a great clay, it's been a tiring clay.

Thoroughly deserved by Avi. He's been strong all week.

Yeah, I feel really, you know, amazing. I've come this far,

I definitely want to go to the banquet.

Well, I don't know about the chefs, but I'm exhausted. Ho-ho!

I bet that was a proper roller-coaster in there,

because we've had some great dishes, some lovely flavours, lots going on.

Avi took an early lead with his impressive starter.

Robbie scored higher with his much-improved main course,

but the wheels came off for Robbie with his dessert.

From Avi's point of view, I mean,

there's a couple of absolutely banging dishes.

They're incredibly exciting.

Well done, mate. So pleased for you. Congratulations. Thank you.

You deserved that. You've been consistent all week, man.

I really hope that you get a dish to the banquet. Thank you.

Cheers. Cheers, buddy.