All language subtitles for The.Hidden.World.of.Hospitality.with.Tom.Kerridge.S01E01.Star.Quality.1080p.HDTV.H264-DARKFLiX

CALLS ORDERS

I'm Tom Kerridge, and I've been
working in hospitality

for over 30 years...

Behind, behind, behind, behind.

...standing shoulder to shoulder...

Happy? I love it, mate.

Right, four beef now.

...with some of the country's most
skilled and inspiring professionals.

You got this, mate.

I'm Tom. Nice to see you.

I wouldn't want to be doing
anything else.

But how much do our customers
really know about what it takes

to deliver a warm welcome,

amazing food and great service?

In this series, I'm letting
the cameras into my world...

We have got 1,500 people
to serve lunch.

...and I'm going behind the scenes

in dramatically different
businesses across the UK...

You're amazing.
Oh, thanks.

...from a plush city centre hotel
to a hideaway rural retreat...

Yeah.

...from a fancy Michelin-starred
restaurant

to a century-old
fish and chip shop,

and from a huge wedding venue
to a buzzing street food festival.

I'm lifting the lid on our industry
like never before...

We've actually got vinegar
for blood, by the way.

...to reveal the side of hospitality
our customers rarely see.

Six hours until we open,
and as you can see...

...nothing's here.

How we operate...

Lady boss!

...our trade secrets...

300 portions of gravy.

When you ask for more gravy,
just think about that.

...the gambles we're taking...

So, what's your timescale?

Four weeks.

We need it up and over!

...in the face of huge challenges.

The fallout of last few years
of Brexit and Covid,

it's real in this industry,
it's massive.

This is UK hospitality,

and this is our inside story.

Service!

Knock-knock. How you doing?
You all right?

This time, I'm meeting chefs who,
like me, are obsessive

in their pursuit of
culinary excellence.

It's in balance, it's beautiful,
it's subtle.

In Cumbria, Ryan Blackburn's
restaurant has won an award

naming it the best fine-dining
restaurant in the world

for two years running...

It's a nice thing to drop
when you're in another restaurant -

"the best..."
RYAN LAUGHS

...and since 2019, he's held
a coveted Michelin star.

All this attention to detail and all
the little elements that we put on,

it's all pointless if the food
isn't really, really tasty.

But with a new set of awards
due to be announced,

will he keep his?

Losing means that you aren't
a Michelin-star chef any more,

which would be a very difficult
thing to manage, I imagine.

In West Yorkshire,
chef Minal Patel is elevating

her Gujarati vegetarian menu...

Grand 2, service.

...striving for accolades of her own.

To get the Michelin star,
this is my personal dream.

And in my flagship pub
in Buckinghamshire...

The sauce is great.

...my chefs are under pressure
to create a new dish for our menu.

That's not set.

We need to look at
how we refine that.

If we let our standards drop,
even for a moment,

we risk losing our own stars.

Chefs with stars are constantly
worried about losing them,

and to say that we're not
would be a complete lie.

So, I'm here today
up in the Lake District,

these beautiful surroundings,

on my way to meet the chef and owner
of the Old Stamp House.

Located in the village of Ambleside
at the north end of Lake Windermere,

The Old Stamp House
is Ryan's first restaurant.

Table ten, two covers, pescatarian.

Table 14, two covers, no dietaries.

Born and raised just ten miles away,

Ryan's cooking celebrates
the fantastic produce

that the bountiful Lake District
has to offer.

It's the connection between me,
the people around us,

the environment around us,
the animals around us,

and trying to express that
to people visiting the area.

Tucked away in a basement
in the heart of the village,

the restaurant is unassuming
from the outside.

Feels a bit secret
and a bit hidden away. Yeah.

But it does make it feel
quite special.

That's why we went for the little
traditional bit of slate

from the local quarry. Yeah, it's
enough to know where you're going

once you've arrived.

But it also makes it feel...

"Ooh, what's in here?"

What a gorgeous space.

I love that wall. Yeah.

It was too noisy
when it was full of people.

So we found this moss system
that absorbs sound and moisture

out of the air. It's a design
feature, but it's mostly there

to try and soften the room.

Feels like you've brought
the outside inside,

and then obviously -
fingers crossed -

the food then kind of marries
and matches all of it together.

Yeah, that's exactly why we did it.

In this restaurant,
I pick the place mats,

I pick the colour of the furniture,

I pick the colour of the walls,
I pick all the artwork.

Some people will say, "Your
attention to detail is brilliant,"

and then somebody else will say,
"You're a control freak.”

It's the same thing.

Ryan's obsessive perfectionism
hasn't been lost on customers.

So, what's this TripAdvisor award?
Yeah.

So, it's "the number one fine-dining
restaurant in the world.”

A pretty ridiculous title to have,
to be honest with you.

It's an amazing title.

Forget the award.

Think of it as a way of
all of your guests

that have eaten with you going,
"This is amazing."

It's a nice thing to drop
when you're in another restaurant -

"the best..."

RYAN LAUGHS

Despite holding an extremely
enviable accolade,

Ryan has found online reviews
more of a burden than a comfort.

I have a slight obsession with
reviews, so it doesn't matter

what review site it is,
I read every single one of them.

I check them multiple times a day
and...

It has a big impact on me,
it has a big impact on how I feel.

And I think the weird thing
about it is,

is if they're good,
I don't even read them.

Just mind your head.

I'd love to see how big
the kitchen is.

There's the jacket.

It won't fit any more, so...
THEY LAUGH

I've put that much weight on
since I won it.

Ryan's team cook their award-winning
tasting menu for up to 36 covers

in a space smaller than
an average domestic kitchen.

How we doing, chefs?

Hello. Hello, chief. How are you?
Nice to see you.

Will, the sous-chef.

This is my corner, where Will's
stood now, where I do the cooking.

And then I have Sam and Brad
over in this corner

doing the larder, pastry section,
all off here.

It's very small, isn't it?
It is, yeah.

So little space to work with.

It's so intense for the guys.

I mean, it's very tight.

I'm a big lad. If I walk through the
door as a 25-year-old looking for

a chef de partie job, I mean, you're
just going to say no straight away.

You're like, "Nah, mate, sorry."
Never, never.

THEY LAUGH

Part of the remit is having
a 30-inch waist, yeah?

Yeah. Yeah!
THEY LAUGH

Should we get out the way...?
Yeah, get that bread out.

Take the bread out...!
THEY LAUGH

See you later on, boys!
See you later.

Very lucky with that team of lads
in there. A really good team.

They've got a really nice energy,
yeah. Yeah.

I have cameras in the kitchen,
so I can monitor the guests

in the restaurant to make sure
nobody's been ignored or left

and make sure everyone's
looking happy.

And I feel like if I don't do that,

everything's going to fall down
and crumble around me, and it's...

Yeah, I think I need to speak
to somebody.

I feel this pressure on me
since we won the Michelin star.

It's something I need to look at.

It's the most difficult thing,
that self-preservation,

that bit of making sure
that you're OK.

Cos it does feel like you should be
giving everything to the business,

constantly giving everything,
leading by example and being that

person that's always in the business
and completely immersed in it.

But nothing else will be OK
unless you're OK.

I used to be like 10 stone heavier
than I am now.

Like, huge, right?

I lost that first bit of weight
in the swimming pool,

I used to swim a mile every day.

But those 45 minutes in a pool,
there's nothing else there

but your own thoughts, so you
start thinking through dishes

whilst you're in that space
and that zone - it helps you create.

Think of it as a creative space.
It's work, chef.

I think part of the reason
why I became a better chef

and the food got better
was that time I spent at the gym,

and going away and balancing myself
and becoming happier as a person.

So the year before you won the star,

you were going to the gym every day?
Yeah, five days a week, yeah.

So, five days a week, you were going
to the gym every day. And loved it.

But winning the star,
you were awarded that star

for the inspection of the year
that you were going to the gym.

That's when they thought you
were great - you were cooking

at a star level - and now
you're continuing doing that.

But why is that different in your...
What's that in your psyche

that means you can't take
that bit of self-preservation?

Cos we're busier, you know,
and we're serving more food.

And if we do 16 lunches,

and not every table's full,
I am not happy.

Like, I am like,
"Why is this restaurant not full?”

It's the thing I need more than
anything else, really, to be honest

with you, is to find this little
bit of time to look after yourself.

My own ambition to become
a top chef

nearly came
at an extremely high price.

That drive to go,
"This is where I want to be,

"this is what we want to do.
Let's define ourselves,

“let's try and be that first pub
that wins two Michelin stars.

“Let's get there,
let's try and do it."

It was being driven,
and then released late at night,

by massively heavy drinking,
like, every single day.

If I hadn't stopped
being that person,

I don't think I'd be sat here now
either.

I think it would be done.
I wouldn't be here.

If we're not set up for service now,
we're in a whole heap of trouble.

By 6.30, Ryan's first
customers arrive.

First customers? Yeah.

Both tables are in.

And I can't leave the best
restaurant in the world...

Nice to meet you. You OK?

...without trying a few dishes
from Ryan's ten-course menu.

I'm joining you for the first bit
of your dinner.

Hope you don't mind.
Lovely. No, no.

Ruin your evening.

Guys, we have our first
little snacks here for you.

We have our beetroot, some
duck liver and pickled walnut.

I love the fact they're still warm.

Yeah.

It's very good. It's beautiful.

To enhance the guests' experience,

each of Ryan's courses
tells a story -

including his fish dish
of Arctic char,

a freshwater species
native to the Lakes,

which was once a mainstay of
the Cumbrian economy.

This is a pot that a char
would have been...

So, once upon a time, they'd have
got the char, steamed it all,

level led it off in there
and sealed it in butter.

And then that would have been sold
to people on the train

to eat as they travelled
around the country.

Ryan's char is served in two parts.

We make it with some potted spice
that goes in there,

and then the rest of it's cured
in seaweed, and then dressed

with pickled cucumber, fresh
horseradish and cured trout roe.

You have to be super focused
and care a lot about what you do.

My personality and my obsession
with things is probably why

this restaurant has a Michelin star.

It's delicious. Yeah.

My last course before I leave these
lovely people to enjoy their evening

is a Herdwick lamb dish,
sourced from a local farmer

who has been supplying Ryan
for the last six years.

So what we've got on this bit is,
we've got some shoulder,

slow-cooked it, and then we've
wrapped it in some bread dough

that's been made using the fat
from the Herdwick shoulder.

And then to go with it
you've got a consomme,

which is all the carcass,
so nothing gets wasted.

Enjoy, guys.
Thank you. Cheers.

It's like the best lamb Bovril
around.

Mm, yes.

Guys, thank you for letting me join
for the first part of your meal,

and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Thanks very much. Take care, guys.
See you later on. Thank you.

Fist bumps. No worries.
See you later on.

See you later, buddy. Cheers.
Take care, take care.

You can see why the restaurant
has got that incredible reputation.

You can see why it's won
the accolade.

It's beautiful food,
wonderful produce,

driven by incredibly hardworking,
professional and passionate people.

The only thing that it reminds
me of - and you can just see it -

how difficult the pressures are
when you're operating at that level.

Retaining a Michelin star
requires year-round dedication.

An inspector could visit on any day,

so you cannot afford to let
standards drop even for a moment.

But I know only too well
the perils of allowing dedication

and ambition to become
so all-consuming,

they start to negatively affect
your personal life

and even your health.

Be just quite interesting for when
I come back and visit the guys

to see if Ryan's been able to do,
I don't know, maybe gone to the gym,

maybe done a little bit more
mountain walking.

See where he's found himself.

In a better space.

Check on two covers, one omelette,
one tart, follow pork steak.

KITCHEN: Out!

At my own pub,
the Hand and Flowers in Marlow,

we've held two Michelin stars
for the last 12 years.

It's very, very simple food,

sits really well in that energy
and atmosphere that's a pub.

Has to be, above all else,
flavoursome.

It just has to taste great.

We're now a well-oiled machine.

But even after all these years,
our quest for excellence

remains as strong as ever.

Check on two covers, one soup,
one pig's head, to follow two beef.

KITCHEN: Oui!

So, you heard everyone made
a weird noise.

But that was French - "oui" -
for "yes".

Kitchens are quite funny old places.

Like, there's this old-school
particularly kind of like

French-style brigade system.

Kitchens can be great fun
to work in...

Toby. Hi, chef.
You all right, will?

...but the brigade system
is designed to be hierarchical

and instil discipline.

All right, let's go.
Bass straight on. Yeah, sure.

Steak, bass, please.

Novices start out as
a commie chef.

Four and a half, guys,
Four steak medium.

KITCHEN: Out!

Their job is to support
the chef de parties

who run each of the sections -

sauce, garnish, larder and pastry.

Do your lardons in the same pan
with the fat, yeah?

Overseeing the whole team when I'm
not here is my sous-chef, Brad,

and head chef Tommo,
who run the pass.

Mash and a cabbage up. Yes, chef.

The person here, they're the person
that's in charge,

they're the conductor,
Tommo or myself.

So the kitchen know what's going on,

they have an understanding of
the checks that are coming in.

They're listening, each one is
listening out for their part.

Everyone's got their little bit.

Then they know and they answer...
"Oui," "Yes, chef."

They know they've got to be
doing something.

Then I also know
that they're listening.

The chef on the pass builds
the plate of food and makes sure

every dish is cooked and served to
the same exacting standards...

A bit more in that.
A bit more, a bit more.

...whether it's being eaten by
a Michelin inspector

or somebody dining with us
for the first time.

I don't want my chefs to be
madly creative.

What I want them to be is
consistent, brilliant, good, strong,

and able to cook on a repeat
schedule, again and again and again,

consistently delivering brilliant,
beautiful produce.

The dishes are a little bit like
a football team,

that you have to intersperse them
with new young ideas coming through.

But at the same point, you have to
have mature, classic, solid ones

that you know what you're going to
get from every single time.

We evolve the menu
one dish at a time,

and when we do, it's a rare chance
for Tommo and Brad to be creative

and show off their skills.

OK, service, please.

A few weeks ago, I asked them to
start working on a new main course

to add to our winter menu,

and today I'm going to evaluate it
for the first time.

It takes weeks and months of
development and work.

And then we have to put it in front
of Tom and make sure he's happy,

and then he'll give us some ideas
and advice,

and then we'll go again.
So it's a long process.

I asked them to work with
venison loin,

and Brad has created a roasted
squash tart to go with it.

So, it's caraway and black pepper
sweet pastry,

and then it's filled with
a blue cheese frangipane.

Gets baked at a low temperature
in the oven

and it gets pressed overnight.

Yeah, I'm happy with it.

Nothing changes at the Hand
and Flowers from the kitchen

without me seeing it,
signing off on it.

How are you doing, boys?
Hello, chef.

You all right?
Yeah, all good, thank you.

We got a venison dish to look at.
Oui.

That looks nice, Bradley.

Yeah, it looks great from the top.

What's in the middle?

The moment of truth.

OK.

What have we got here?

Is that frangipane cooked?

How long has that been baked
in the oven for?

An hour and 20 minutes. OK.

Cos that's not set.

What temperature
did we cook that on?

160. 160?

So the reason that that's not then
even is that because,

as it's been pressed...
So when we've pressed it,

we've pressed it on the angle,
so it's gone out like that.

So we need to look at
how we refine that

so that that's dispersed properly.

We're putting the dish together?
Let's do it.

Let's have a look.

The tart is enriched with a generous
helping of grated chestnut,

a chestnut puree, a ragout,

and a coffee and walnut ketchup.

Sauce is great.

Four pieces of roasted venison loin
complete the dish.

I actually think you could
cook the squash more.

So if it comes to a press, it sits
better, cos it falls apart. Yeah.

I also think the pastry
is probably a little sweet.

Does it need a bit more cumin
going through it?

Curry powder?
Something as a spice hit.

Yeah.

And I think you could probably
look at getting more...

More of the ketchup for it.

Cos I think it lacks the acidity.

So we're almost there.

It's a lot of work, and it takes
time, cos you give him one thing,

and then he always comes back
and wants another thing, and ideas.

And he probably thinks of things,
too,

and then he comes in
and asks us...

So it started with
a custard tart first,

and now it's ended up like this.

As the workings of a dish, it's
very, very close to being right,

but fundamentally,
there's some foundational issues

that have to be ironed out.

Anyone else before I get rid of?

How are you feeling, Bradley?

Slightly deflated?

Uh, yeah, a little bit, but...

That dish, now, I'm confident
will be on the menu

in two weeks' time.

One soup, position one.
One pig's head, position two.

Table 14.

For the last 18 years of running
a business, I fear that every day

I'm going to lose everything.

People aren't going to come through
the door, people aren't going to...

No matter how good you think
your product is or what you do,

and the team of people that
you've built around you,

I live in fear every single day.

But also, equally, every time I
walk through the door of a building

that we operate in, I love it.

I'm super excited by it.

So it's this kind of roller-coaster
of emotions

that you spend constantly
that you never get off.

Which is something that I think
most top chefs would understand.

In the Lake District,
Ryan's obsessive attention to detail

extends to every aspect of
the customer experience.

They never have this restaurant
set up quickly enough for me.

On arrival, rather than a menu,
guests receive a letter telling them

about his ingredients and their
importance to the local area.

As I've developed as a chef,
it's more about the story

that we're telling with the food,

more than the technical skills
of being a chef.

It's the ingredient
that's exciting to me.

The whole ethos of this restaurant
is food inspired by Cumbria,

so there needs to be
that connection.

But just like me, Ryan needs to do
a seasonal refresh on his menu -

and for him, new ingredients
must deliver

much more than just great flavour.

I'd really like to get
a good supply of pork.

It's not something
that's farmed a lot in Cumbria,

so to find a good supplier
would be amazing

and really super exciting as well.

Before anything goes on the menu,
we really like to see

the environment
it's been produced in

and how much care has gone into it.

So, to get the right producer
doing it the right way

before we put it on the menu
is really important.

And that's why I've come here today.

Come on, pig!

Come on, pig!
Now then, Frank.

Hello, Ryan. How are you doing?
You all right?

I'm very well. How are you today?
Yeah, good.

Thanks for letting me have a look
at the pigs

and showing me around the farm,
I really appreciate it.

Well, there's your bucket.

Might as well make myself useful
while I'm here.

OK.

Just five miles from
Ryan's restaurant...

What do you know about Tamworths,
then?

Pork isn't an area of my expertise,
I have to admit.

...fourth-generation farmer Frank

only started rearing Tamworth pigs
two years ago.

They're a very good free-range pig.

They're originally from Ireland.
Ireland? Yeah.

Come on, pigs. Come on, pigs.

Just follow my lead.
PIGS SQUEAL

It sounds like being in Jurassic
Park. It does, doesn't it?

Tamworths are very resilient
to weather.

Quite thick-skinned, actually.

So the thick skin makes them easier
to manage and able to cope with

the environment, but also great
crackling, as well, for me.

Absolutely, yeah.

So it covers all the bases.
Yeah! For both of us!

They take a lot longer
to bring to the plate

than your commercial breeds.

You're looking at somewhere
between nine months and a year

for some of them.

How do you find it working
when we're going direct

to the restaurant? Are you happy
supplying us like that?

Cos we need a consistency.

When we put the time and the effort
into developing the dish,

we want it to be on the menu
for a considerable amount of time.

Yeah, well, we aim to please.

We do about 200 a year.

It's exactly what I was looking for,
exactly what I was looking for.

This is fantastic.

Cheers, Frank. Thanks, Ryan.

I'll see you later.
See you in the restaurant!

I think we've found
our pork supplier.

It's a good-quality animal
in the right environment

with the right welfare.

The whole experience is inspiring -
meeting Frank, the pigs,

the quality of what he does,
but also the environment.

And yeah, it's now onto
the next process.

How are we going to translate this
into the plate of food

back at the restaurant?

The pressure now is on me.

As if developing a new dish
and retaining a Michelin star

aren't stressful enough,

Ryan has an important decision
to make.

A former bakery that sits
directly above the Old Stamp House

has just become available.

It's a site that I always dreamed
a little bit about getting hold of

and what I would do if I got it, and
I never expected to get that site.

I always assumed that the tenants
would stay forever.

So for us to have the opportunity
is a massive bonus.

Ryan, along with his brother
and business partner Craig,

have arranged a meeting with
kitchen designer Johnny...

How are you? You all right?

...to explore whether the site
can feasibly accommodate

a new restaurant.

Nice. Nice!

A lot of work to do, eh?

A lot of work. Yeah.

This is going to be
an a la carte restaurant.

Similar to what we do
at the Stamp House,

but we're going to do an a la carte
version for the customers

that don't want the whole
tasting experience.

This I want to be more for

the people who live and work
in the area.

It's going to be called
the Old Sausage Roll House.

THEY LAUGH
The Old Sausage Roll House!

How many seats?

I think comfortably we're looking
about 20 extra covers to start with.

But your area is through here
in the kitchen.

Great. OK. Have a look at this
and see what we can do.

I mean, there's a lot of questions
about suitability.

You know, the floor.
The floor's the worry

from what we're looking at
downstairs, isn't it? Yeah.

Directly underfoot are
the original ceiling beams

of the Old Stamp House dining room.

This is the big question.

Will it support a modern kitchen?
Yeah.

Cos if we want to put an induction
stove along that wall,

it's going to be a lot of weight.

500 kilo. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Well, we need to do something
with it, cos the danger is

if somebody else took the site
directly above the restaurant

and they made too much noise,
it would make the restaurant...

Yeah, no, of course.
So we have...

You know, you feel like you're in
a position where you have to do it,

you have to make it work, and we
have to do what's right. Course.

Craig really wants a wine shop,
but I'm not so keen on...

Be easier. Yeah.
Just a nice wine shop.

Plenty of weight in wine. Yeah!

We'd still have to do something with
the floor for him, wouldn't we?

Maybe we need to look at
this space, then,

where we've got
the reinforced floor.

And putting the kitchen
towards the back there?

Kitchen towards the back.
And then, you know,

maybe like a countertop kitchen,
like a bar.

People can sit here.
See, this could be...

If you put a small range
across the back,

and then put a couple of pods...
Yeah, yeah.

That could be the wow factor.
It's very modern, as well.

If you were to come past here now
and look in here

and look straight at the kitchen and
straight at the pods and the tables,

it's like, wow.

You want to be dining here.
Yeah. You want to be seen.

It's cool.
It's a cool way of doing it.

That's... No, that's really...

For me, I find that really
an exciting concept to try and do.

It's more risky than my idea,
but that doesn't make me nervous,

cos maybe that's what we need to do.

Yeah, you've completely changed
what I had in my mind

this morning, Johnny. That's why
you're here. Good to see you.

To get to this point in my career,
I've pushed myself hard.

And to push again and go further
and get better, that's exciting.

I hope that is what the customers
want, yeah.

Taking on another site could put
huge pressure on family life...

Come on, this way.

...all whilst Ryan has been trying
to follow my advice

and take time away from
his existing restaurant

to spend with his wife Gemma
and kids Bella and Charlie.

Really struck a chord, actually,
the kind of, you know,

not feeling like I had to
babysit the staff

and be around them all the time
and, like, entrust them a bit more

and walk away from the business.

He's even started exercising again.

When you're in the swimming pool,
even if it's just for 30 minutes,

there's no...
You've not got your phone.

Nobody can hassle you,
nobody can get in touch with you.

And it gives you this, like,
half an hour of proper headspace.

Makes a really big difference
to your day. Yeah.

And I feel better,
feel more energetic as well.

Do you like having Daddy home?
Yeah. Yeah, is it good?

Yeah.

Why is better?
What's the best thing about it?

Because I get to see you.
You get to see me?

It's been so nice when the kids
are off as well

that you've got that extra time
with us as a family. Yeah.

It's been lovely that you've been
able to take Charlie

to football practice, as well.

You get to be part of...
Yeah, I do enjoy that.

What do you think we should call it,
the new restaurant? Uh...

What about Charlie's Restaurant?

Yeah! Yeah.

Charlie's Restaurant!
Charlie's Restaurant?

And are you going to be a chef?

Erm, I think so.

You think so? No, you're not.

Going to be a doctor, aren't you?
No!

Going to be a football player.

Yeah!

And are you going to work in
the restaurant, Bella?

Are you going to be a chef?
No. No.

What are you going to do?

I'm going to be a marine biologist
after my dancing career.

RYAN LAUGHS

OK, let's make some dinner.

Yeah.

What are we making?

Er... Let's have some...

...Spanish rice.

Spanish rice! Spanish rice.

I always have a concern when Ryan
talks about expanding the business.

If you expand, you need more staff,

and that's a really big deal,
because you need the right staff.

And I know that Ryan's ambitious
and he always seems to keep wanting

to push to do more and to
achieve more. Which is...

...great, but there's always
a part of me that says, you know,

when is it enough?
When will it be enough?

Opening a new site definitely
puts more pressure on,

but I like to challenge myself.

I want to improve.
I want my family to...

You know, my children, in ten years'
time, they could be coming

and working with me, and I want to
have created something

they can be proud of and maybe join.

Come on. Come on.

This looks good.

70 miles away
across the Yorkshire Dales,

in an area famed for
its curry restaurants,

husband and wife team
Bobby and Minal Patel...

...are also striving for
culinary excellence.

PRODUCER: Who's the boss
in your relationship?

Me, me, me.
Me, I'm the boss. Me, me, me.

I'm the boss, for sure.
I'm the boss. I'm the boss.

I am. She's the boss.

THEY LAUGH

Their restaurant, Prashad,

is located six miles south-east
of Bradford

in the village of Drighlington.

Grand 9.

But their food hails from
the place of Minal's birth

and Bobby's ancestry...

Grand 7.

...Gujarat, 6,000 miles away
in north-west India.

Gujarati food is vegetarian food,

very, very healthy,

and it's lots of flavours.

What we'd like to achieve at Prashad
is absolute excellence,

where we're really pushing
flavour combinations,

elevating the dining experience,

and then backing that up
with service.

To create her signature dish,
known as pattra, Minal has combined

a traditional Gujarati recipe

with a seasonal ingredient
grown in Yorkshire.

This is chard leaf parcel.

Authentic Indian Gujarati recipe
with our local leaves.

Each leaf is individually coated

with a rich spiced
gram and sorghum flour paste.

We steam this, and then garnish
on top with the coconut,

some mustard seed.

So let it crackle, the mustard seed.

Flavour will be sweet and sour,
tangy,

and the mustard have
beautiful flavours,

and a lovely crunch
with the coconut.

The pattra is served with
a beetroot chutney

infused with cumin and ginger,

and accompanied by an apple,
pea and coriander garnish,

topped with micro garlic chives.

Any other restaurant,
you won't get this.

And Minal's skills in the kitchen...

Service.

...have not gone unnoticed.

This is my culinary awards.

We have two AA Rosettes.

I'd like to get third one, as well.

We have some Bradford Curry award.

Best in Bradford.

Prashad has also received
Michelin's Bib Gourmand,

which recognises exceptional
value for money.

But Minal's next target
is their hallowed star.

To get the Michelin star,
this is my personal dream.

They need consistency of your food
and more innovative dishes.

And everything they need,
I'm working on it.

Need to take this, everything.
Yeah, yeah.

During the week, Prashad only opens
for dinner service...

OK.

See you later, Mum and Dad.

Shall I take one thing?
Yeah, take the heavy one.

OK. See you later.

...50 Bobby and Minal's working day
begins at 2pm.

We love this weather, don't we?
Yeah, we like it.

Why do we like it cold and wet?

Everybody wants to eat curry.
Yeah.

Hi, Ramesh, you OK? Hello.

Yeah, I OK. Very good.

To achieve their ambition,
Bobby and Minal have assembled

a crack team of specialised chefs.

Hello.

THEY EXCHANGE GREETINGS

We'll be collecting
as much of the three o'clock team,

which is the kitchen team.
So everyone will

get to the restaurant
at the same time and get going...

Oh, here he is.

...bang on the dot.

A lot of my staff don't drive,

and whilst they can get to
the restaurant,

they wouldn't be able to get back.

We just run it like a family.

Oh, Kamal!

That's the first time
I've picked you up

and you haven't been on your phone.

All aboard, the team has a 15-minute
drive to the restaurant...

THEY SING

...where the hard work can begin.

Here is my main kitchen.

We have Ramesh, our sous-chef.
Hello.

Ramesh has been Minal's
right-hand man for 15 years.

As well as sous-chef,
he's a specialist in desserts,

having learnt the skills in his
father's sweet shop back in India.

And here we have Sukumar.

He makes brilliant dosa.

From Calcutta, Sukumar has mastered
the skills required

to create the perfect
crispy dosa pancake.

And for Rizwan,
it's bread, chutneys and pickle.

At the moment,
he's frying poppadoms.

So, in Prashad, everything is fresh.

So, only lady in the kitchen.

It's brilliant.
I have eight chefs with me.

Lady boss!

Whilst Minal runs the kitchen,

Bobby is responsible for
the front of house.

OK, guys, busy night tonight.

If anyone's ordering pattra, pattra
at the moment is made by chard,

so make sure we're talking about
the chard.

And look after every customer.

Good luck.
Let's have a fantastic service.

Even on a rainy Tuesday night
in November...

Great, thank you. Enjoy.
Yeah, thank you!

...the restaurant is
nearly fully booked.

It's the first time I've ever
tried vegetarian food

and I could be converted
quite easily.

Every bit of food I've eaten
has been honestly unreal.

Everything is so delicious.

To showcase her skills,
stand out from the competition,

wow her customers
and hopefully impress

any visiting Michelin inspectors,

Minal has decided to offer
a tasting menu.

A tasting menu is asking
the customer to trust us implicitly

and give the chef the opportunity
to give them an experience,

so the freedom comes in,

and also it means that we're
bringing to the table

dishes that the customer probably
would have never ordered.

First up is a samosa
with a difference.

Well, she said, "Eat it
like ice cream,"” which I think

was a very good bit of advice
because it makes you feel

about nine years old.

It's an open samosa.

That is so delicious.

We relish the fact that Prashad
is one of the only,

if not THE only restaurant
in Yorkshire

within the Indian cuisine
that's offering a tasting menu.

After the samosa,
the guests can enjoy sakham tikki...

...a classic Gujarati starter

of griddled garam masala-infused
mushroom and potato cake.

Grand 2, service.

This is busiest moment in the night,
four, five tables

having a tasting menu,
some having thalis.

We have big orders here.

So, yeah, it's buzzing.

Next up is a cold dish called
chowpatti, a street dish popular

throughout India, consisting
of an onion and tomato salad

mixed with pastry and puffed rice.

The secret of Gujarati food
is the ingredients, the spices

and flavours. And freshness.

Topped with pomegranate
and raw mango

and some micro coriander.

Course four is Sukumar's speciality,
the dosa.

But for the tasting course,
it's deconstructed.

It's a dry potato curry
with lentil soup,

with vegetables,
and a rice and lentil crepe.

We make fresh, there and then,
when order comes,

so it is big effort.

Grand 11.

Go.

After a main of kofta served with
a caraway-infused tomato raso...

That's good, isn't it? Yeah.

Yes, the rice is amazing.

...the guests need to find room
to enjoy Minal's dessert,

her interpretation
of a classic baklava recipe

that she calls gujlawa.

Mm-mm!

And now I'm trying to kill myself
by trying to eat this dessert!

To try not to explode.
No, it's fantastic, actually.

There wasn't a single thing
that we didn't love.

Definitely not regretting it.
Superb!

Goodnight, thank you.

See you later. Bye.

The feedback from the customers
has been phenomenal.

It makes us feel that we've done
a good job.

Everything finished quickly,
quickly. We go home. OK?

Everybody looks exhausted.

Part of our end of day means
tomorrow is already prepared,

so not only have we had a fantastic
day, we're ready for tomorrow.

When it's all go well
and very, very busy,

I'm, like, very super happy
and super excited for next day

and really happy, over the moon.

I'll be keeping an eye out

to see if Bobby and Minal achieve
their Michelin dream.

It means to me a lot.
It's a personal goal.

I think we are close,
but need a little bit...

Push a little more.

It's February, and the date and
the location of the Michelin Awards

has been announced,

but so far no invites

have been received
in Ambleside.

Empty that for us.

It's normally an email, so, yeah,
that's what I'm kind of...

Kind of waiting for.

So not only am I checking
TripAdvisor every ten minutes,

I'm checking my inbox as well!

An invite is an extremely strong
indication that a restaurant

will retain its award,

so it's a nervous time.

Kind of on tenterhooks
until we get the invite and then...

Then I'WL be able to relax
a little bit.

Kind of nervous, but excited
at the same time.

It's a strange, strange feeling.

Losing means that you aren't
a Michelin-star chef any more,

which would be...

It would be a very difficult...

...thing to manage, I imagine.

Every time the awards are coming up,
you can tell it's on his mind.

After working with him for so long,

you know when something's
not right with him.

I really don't want to lose it,
and I don't think we will lose it.

But to every chef who's got a star,

or works somewhere
that's got a star...

They're all going to be nervous
about the awards.

Of course they are.

Ryan's hopes of starting a new
business in the old bakery upstairs

are also hanging in the balance.

We still haven't signed
the contract.

It's been delayed by a disagreement,
which is slightly frustrating

because now we'd like
to be moving it on.

We're being patient,
but, yeah, worrying a little bit.

Hopefully, the situation
that's happening,

that's out of our control,
gets resolved and we can...

Yeah, we can do something
in the near future.

For the time being, Ryan is focusing
on what he can control.

He's convinced he's found the
right pig for a new pork dish,

but now begins
the painstaking process

of turning the high-quality product
into a Michelin-worthy dish.

| want to experiment with this.
we'll play with the shoulder.

We know what we're doing
with that and the garnish.

And then, with this, we're going
to chop it up and then barbecue it.

With so little space to work
in the restaurant,

Ryan and sous-chef Will prefer to
develop new dishes at home.

I'll start butchering this up
and get it pork chopped.

Get that chicory. Yeah.

Chicory isn't normally something
you'd associate with pork,

so I thought we'd try that.

What I'd really like to do is,
you know, as we go into spring,

I want to do, like, a take on
a chimichurri, salsa verde,

but using just foraged ingredients
out of the woods.

Nice, yeah. So, like, a wild
garlic base. Few other things.

There's loads of things we can use.
Yeah.

And then what we'll do is we'll
slice the pork chop up on the table

and get the front of house to just
dress it in the wild garlic capers,

some beer vinegar through it...

Wild garlic leaves chopped into it
at the last minute

so they're nice and green
and vibrant.

I want to offer something
that's in two parts,

so it's more than just a plate food
put in front of it.

And I feel that with this dish,
we've got to work on that,

and how are we going to get
the wow factor.

And I think the wow factor might be

the really beautiful plate of food
in front of them.

And then this central
kind of sharing part of the dish,

which is going to be
a premium cut of meat.

I think we should start with a
cider. There's only one way to pick.

Yeah.

HE CHUCKLES

Which one are you thinking
for the cooking?

Probably this one.

Definitely that one,
it's more...sharp. Yeah.

Today is all about trying
new things and playing with it.

You know, no customer is going
to be harmed in the development

of this dish!

And with no danger someone might
write a bad review,

Ryan is free to experiment...

Oh, my God. ..with a new toy.

Look at that.

All the way from Japan, for
indoor barbecuing in the kitchen.

Oh, nice.

It'd be nice to be doing this
outside in the sunshine,

but this is Cumbria, so...

We're trying it just for
the flavour point of view

and we've only seasoned it with
salt. We've not added any marinade.

It might be the case, with this,
that once we barbecue it,

just naturally, the dressing
will be enough

and we don't need to marinate it
in anything else.

I'll just stay here on my knees, in
the rain, on the floor, barbecuing.

I'll let Will do the rest
of the dish.

It's not quite what I was expecting!
It smells good.

Nice weather for a barbecue, this.

The stakes are so high with the new
dish that Ryan's brother Craig

has come along to offer
a third opinion.

When I was at the farm,
it was all, like, empty trees

and, like, a hill...
Quite a blank landscape.

And I kind of want to put that
onto the plate.

So you kind of start with
the height already,

but then really give it
the texture of the landscape.

Take the tops off...
Keep them big. Yeah.

Crispier the better, I think,
them tips.

Maybe two, I think, might be enough
for this. And then...

...we just dress it table-side

in a reduction of pork stock,

pickled garlic capers
and chopped leaves,

just to give a kind of...
The taste of the woods.

For a new dish to get onto the menu,

it's got to be delicious
and it's got to be an improvement

on what we already do.

And I have to personally feel like
I've took a step forward.

It's good, isn't it?

It's good meat.

Real nice flavour
from that barbecue.

I don't love it.
It needs a bit more work,

is the honest truth.

To cook a piece of...loin or chop
on a barbecue,

it's not a hard thing to do.

And I'm worried that, the point
I'm out at the moment is,

it's maybe not...at the level of
the dishes

that we're looking to replace.

I don't see that pork...chop loin
being...

...right as the main element.

I don't think it's as...
..impressive enough.

A Michelin star plate of food
is delicious

and it's creative and it's...unique,

and, to some extent, we have got
that in that dish there.

I think it is really good,
but it's almost like it just needs

a little shine, a little polish.

It's not ready to go on,
that's for certain.

I feel...

...the pressure I put myself under...

...it makes me better at what I do.

You know, it makes me
more ambitious,

more focused, more driven.

40 covers, it'll be great.

I mean, look after everybody.
Big smiles as normal.

In Marlow, head chef Tommo
and sous-chef Brad

had been busy working
on a new venison dish.

Are you on it? Always!

But unfortunately, despite months
of effort, the accompanying

frangipane tart didn't tick all the
boxes to earn its place on the menu.

We actually got to the point
where the tart was great,

and nailed it,
but the infrastructure

of the tart build wasn't there,

so it ended up making a 16-portion
tart, but you could probably only

use four or five portions from it.

It wasn't right, so it lasted
on the menu probably about a week

before I got really angry with it,
I went, "We've got to ditch it,

"Tommo, it's not right..." Brad,
he's worked so hard on this dish.

"We're going to ditch it.
we'll revisit it next autumn.

"Right now, it's not right, we've
got to move, we've got to change it,

"and we've got to change it quite
quick because I hate it."

I imagine, for Brad, he's a little
bit gutted he spent months

trying to get it on the menu.

I had it on for a week,
and then I ditched it.

But, you know, it's fine.

I'll give Brad a little stroke.
He'll be OK.

A dish does not make it onto
the menu at the Hand and Flowers

unless we can make it repetitively
again and again and again

to those same exacting standards.

So where you think you've gone,
"We've got this perfect”,

actually, it doesn't make it.

How are we, boys and girls?
Are we all all right?

Today we're launching a new dish.

And just like Ryan,
we've been inspired by pork.

Raging these sides, yeah?

The lads have created a stunner
that I'm super happy with.

The flavour of liquorice,
I absolutely love.

So we've put a liquorice stick
through the pork

and we've cooked it so the flavour
of the liquorice

begins to infuse into the pork.

On the plate, we've got brassica
and anchovy ketchup.

That's the malt-glazed cheek
as well. And then cheek as well.

Into the bowl. Oui.

And then we've got
the potato risotto,

so it's diced cooked potato

and there's a process called
retrogradation...

Rich, thick... Yeah.

Doesn't look like a large amount,
but actually very filling.

And then finish...
That's finished with Parmesan.

Loads of Parmesan in that,
that's amazing.

The pork itself is finished with
the deep-fried Ortiz anchovy.

So that lovely salty anchovy flavour
working with the pork

and the liquorice. Pork puff.
A posh pork scratching.

Then the risotto is finished
with a smoked butter sauce,

just in there, aerated.

Then Milano salami...

Not too heavy-handed.

Deep-fried kale.

And then a lovely pork sauce,
made with bones and trotters.

And do we serve the sauce
on the side? Yeah.

I love everything about that.

I love the sweet, subtle flavours
of pork, but then

with those punchy flavours -
the anchovy, the brassica ketchup,

the crisp texture you get from
pork crackling, essentially.

The little tempura batter...

But the liquorice stick
through that, for me,

and the Sichuan pepper,
just those flavours,

and then softened off
with the malt glaze,

for me, that dish is...everything's
in balance, punchy, strong,

but sweet and subtle.

And then the richness of that...

...on the side, with
a bit of multi-glaze cheat.

It's great when we get new dishes
on the menu.

It's great for the team.
There's an excitement, a buzz.

It's a young team.
It's young people.

You want them to be able to see
as much, learn as much as possible.

But one of the biggest skill-sets
that you can have as a chef

is repetitive consistency
of excellence,

and those are the things
that drive you to the next level.

All right, boss? Happy?

I love it, mate.

Right, four beef now. Oui!

It's been four months since my
last visit to the Old Stamp House.

I've just received my invite
to the Michelin Awards...

...and I'm anxious to find out
if Ryan's had his.

Knock, knock. How are you doing?
You all right?

Hi, I'm good, thanks, chief.
How are you? Welcome back.

Yeah, good. Thank you very much.
Thank you! How's everything going?

Good? Busy? Yeah, keeping busy.

Working on a new menu at
the moment as we go into spring,

so... When you change your menu
here, it's...quite a big deal

because we only serve one menu.
I'm finding this one tricky.

So if you want to give me some
feedback, it would be welcome.

Yeah, mate. I'll tell you what -
I'm glad I've turned up hungry.

Come on, show us.

Hey, Will. How are you?
All right, Tom. How are you doing?

I'm all right, thanks, chef.

Good to see you. Yeah, you too.
Yeah. This looks exciting.

Ryan and Will have been grafting
away, night after night,

to refine their pork dish.

But no matter what tweaks they make,
they're still not convinced

that their latest version
is good enough.

This is the bit that we're not
100% there with, the loin.

You can buy it very cheap in the
shop and when it's out the shop,

it's not that nice.

And I don't know if people
have just got a bit of a hang-up

over pork loin. This one's with
onions, a bit of artichoke,

and then we're finishing it with
some wild garlic,

which we've just got into season.

You're the customer,

you've got that in the middle
between you,

that gets plated in front of you,

and then we finish by giving you
the broth.

I just don't have the confidence
that this can replace

what we're taking off.

So you're worried...
Let me give it a little try.

So you're worried that
it's actually the piece of meat

that's the problem?
I mean, it looks gorgeous.

I can tell from you
that's not as tender as it looks.

I really like that. Mm.

I think the texture of that, for me,
I like chewing a piece of meat.

From a guest perception,
they want melt in your mouth -

that's what they want,

so I can see why that
sits uncomfortably with you.

That's a problem, where we've got
in the food scene, over the last

20 years, of assuming that pork loin
hasn't got texture,

hasn't got flavour, that it's almost
like this bland piece of protein

that becomes a flavour vehicle
for absorbing.

That is tasty and chewy
with texture.

So is your only issue, really,
with that dish,

the texture of that piece of meat?
Yeah, the texture.

But I've also... I have been told
by a customer they found it bland.

It's not bland.
It's in balance, it's beautiful.

It's subtle. That, for me,

is 100% worthy of a Michelin star.

And talking of Michelin,
have you...got your invite?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. OK, good.
Yeah. Good!

Yeah... It's...

...a very happy email I received
on Monday on my night off, so...

When you have a star
and you're waiting for that email

or that confirmation of,
"You've retained..."

Whoa. Like, sometimes you have to
be careful what you wish for,

don't you? Because it's... Weighs
heavy. It does. It really does.

Well, mate, I'm glad you got
the email because from the meals

that I've had here and the food that
I've seen, and the produce you use,

and the kitchen brigade you've got,
it's never in doubt, chief.

Ryan's got more good news.

He's signed the lease
on the old bakery upstairs

and can get to work
building his new restaurant.

All right! You got it. Yeah, we've
got the keys a couple of weeks,

so we've had the boys come in
and rip it out.

So what have you got planned
for it, then?

The idea at the moment is to go for
a counter-seating,

tapas-style restaurant. Right, OK.
Something a bit different.

I'm quite inspired by Barcelona.

And you go into these
little tapas bars in Barcelona,

and they've made something out of
an incredibly difficult site.

There isn't much space. Yeah.
It's like a premium,

so with an open kitchen here
with a kitchen counter.

Right. Chefs working,
a station there for a wine waiter

and front of house to work,

where we're going to have nice beers
and wines.

We're looking at trying to get
between 12 and 16 seats

on this counter. Yeah. And then
seats around the windows here.

And now it's opened up,

it's changed my mind from last time

I had somebody around
looking at it.

I want atmosphere, I want full
and I want people just to eat

really good food, but not
to feel tense about it.

Not so much judgment, eating,
you know... Smiley, relaxed, fun.

"Do you want a glass of wine?
A little bit of a snack.

"Just come sit down."

Yeah, I'm taking a bit of a risk,
but I personally find it exciting

and a nice new challenge.

So have you've got a chef
that's going to head it up,

or is it going to fall on your
shoulders and you're going to be

running between the two spaces?

I'm definitely going to be involved.

THEY LAUGH

I've got...
There's a couple of options.

I've got a couple of great lads
at sous-chef level -

Will, obviously, with me,
down there.

Between me and Will,
we will oversee the two kitchens

and he's excited
by this project as well,

so he can come up here...

Because I've got to give them
opportunities to grow themselves.

It's time for me to improve
as a manager, you know?

It's time for me to get better at
that kind of thing.

I've proved my point,

I think, as a chef, you know?
Now is the next part of my career,

now is about learning
the skill of delegation

and hopefully everybody benefits
from that -

my staff, my family, myself.

By the sounds of it,

I've got to be honest,
it sounds like a chef's dream.

It sounds super exciting,
incredible...

I really don't blame you at all
for taking this site on.

It feels like it's going to be
everything that you want to do -

heart, soul, food, connection,

and just nice small numbers as well.
Take your time, get it right.

Good luck, mate, I'll see you

at the awards. See you at
the awards. Thanks for coming.

That pork dish basically sums Ryan
up, and I recognise it in myself

and in so many other chefs,
that you think about things,

you lose sleep over it,
you strive for perfection,

you get something on the menu and
then you're still not happy with it,

so you take it off again.

And I think that's the sort of thing
that keeps restaurateurs, chefs,

driven every single day,
to get out of bed,

that looking for the next thing,

the exciting opportunities
and driving it forward.

And, you know, that's what
this next restaurant's going to be.

It's another exciting opportunity.

He's going to strive for it.
He's going to think about it.

He's going to get it right
and he's going to open it.

And then he'll never be happy
with it

because we're always trying
to find the next thing.

He is going to have to learn how
to delegate very, very quickly.

He's got to allow those staff
to grow personally, professionally,

make mistakes. But that will turn
him from a great, exceptional,

amazing chef, into a great,
exceptional, amazing restaurateur.

Next time,

I visit a burger restaurant
with bold plans to expand...

Everything's going up.

But that's why these opportunities
are presenting themselves.

...a hideaway retreat is hoping
to lure in more guests...

Our next rather large endeavour.

...and in Manchester, we've had to
make a very difficult decision.

The headline is either,

"Tom Kerridge walks away
from Stock Exchange”,

or "Stock Exchange
kicks Tom Kerridge out.”