Let's do it. Ouch.
Take three restaurants...
Make the portions bigger, boys. LAUGHTER
Cheers. Cheers.
..cooking up their finest fare.
Gorgeous!
Ask each to host a three-course meal...
Hey!
..which will be scored in secret.
It's making you all tingly? It is making me feel tingly.
On today's show, mollusc mouthfuls...
You can do this. Go for it, yeah? Yeah, yeah.
Ah! That was an experience.
..scorching spoonfuls...
Served with little pots of blended Scotch bonnet.
Yeah, go on.
Nose burns? Ooh, that's coming after.
I know when not to be a plonker.
..and dashy gnashers...
You've had those teeth whitened up a little bit.
They're actually natural teeth. I actually brush them, yeah.
It was only a bit of fun.
Took it very personally.
..as they compete to win a £1,000 prize.
ALL: Ooh!
Hello, I'm here.
Today's professional competition comes from in and around Birmingham.
It might have a rich culinary history
and a plethora of Michelin star restaurants,
but that doesn't compare to its most famous foodie icon -
Spaghetti Junction.
And, hoping not to drive their guests round the bend tonight,
are our first hosts, head chef Rosie
and front of house Jess of the Oyster Club.
We're a very versatile restaurant, so if you want a casual lunch
or a very expensive fancy dinner,
you're more than welcome to come. Very expensive!
I don't know why!
I don't know either. Still, it looks fancy.
Sometimes Jess sort of in the middle of a busy service will kind of,
I can hear her and some of the other front of house giggling around
the pot wash.
Jess! SHE LAUGHS
Shut up! Ooh.
I'd get a wriggle on.
Right, let's go then.
Come on, get on with your job. THEY LAUGH
So, what's the plan then, eh?
Tonight, we're going to serve fancy food in
a relaxed environment where everyone should enjoy it,
so the best of both worlds, hopefully.
They're kicking off with the starter...
What does it mean, "chicken skin"?
It means the outside of the chicken.
I know what a chicken skin is, but, like...
I'm pleased about that.
Next into the professionals' den are dad and daughter duo
Lorenzo and Jade of Wildmoor Oak.
We're a classic country pub in the wilds of Worcestershire.
We do Caribbean food as one of our main specialities,
but we do maintain some British classics.
Hello, answer, hello.
You all right, Dad?
Oh, you're on the phone again. Yeah, listen,
I'm just getting lunch ready.
He's a good chef, he's trained me well.
Should I use the word "trained"? Um...
Broken, I think, perhaps, like a horse.
Sounds painful.
You take those off, use your hand like that,
everything that comes off is good, yeah? Yeah.
Got that, Jade? At the Oyster Club,
Jess is helping out Rosie in the kitchen today,
and with the crab cooking, first job is de-stoning avocados.
Watch those fingers, you.
Fingers intact, Rosie blitzes the avo with chilli before adding
food colouring?! Not green enough for you?
Keep it nice and fresh looking. I'm learning all the tricks today.
Her next trick is whisking it all together
and popping it into a piping bag.
Are you any good at tying balloons?
No, I'm actually not, but I'll give it a go.
There we go. Oh, no, that was a poor job.
Look at all that, look at, it's so saggy now.
Avocado,
got to be seasoned right, otherwise I can't stand it.
Meet our final professionals of the week,
owners of high-end restaurant 8,
head chef Andy and front of house Sam.
So, I'd describe 8 as a countertop dining experience.
There's no sort of bracket cuisine that we do, do you know,
where people go modern British interpretations and all this.
I just serve food that I think
a lot of people can relate to.
Yeah, I think that'd go really well with the cod, and then we just need
to work out what we're going to serve with the beef.
Definitely rioja with the beef.
It's the only thing, really, that's going to hold up to it.
And with a no-nonsense approach,
they're not expecting much criticism this week. Oh, you missed a bit.
I've never had anybody come in and say they don't like the food, ever.
If we went through this whole experience
and someone said I don't like the food, you know...
We'll be surprised.
Back with today's hosts...
Steady on.
..and the crab's ready for cracking.
The key for crab, keep your board tidy
because we don't want bits of shell flying around everywhere.
That's it. Nearly.
Oy!
SHE LAUGHS
She just told you, Jess. That went everywhere.
Hmm. I don't like crab.
Do you not like crab? No.
Oh, dear. Crab meat picked, they add chives,
apples, mayo, ketchup and lime juice.
It really kind of cuts through all that meatiness of the crab.
It's mixed, then set aside for tonight.
So it's onto the main...
That's more fish, Jade.
No! This isn't happening. This is not happening.
I'm afraid it is.
This is the turbot for our main course,
so it is the king of the sea.
It really is one of the best fish money can buy.
Rosie begins with a decapitation, before the hard work really starts.
That's it, go on,
give it all your strength, all your strength.
Go on, girl, give it some!
Right, you're going to have to leave this one to
the professionals, Jess, OK?
Crikey! Now, that's how you do it.
I love turbot, absolutely love it.
I love it when it's cooked properly. I hate it when it's overcooked.
On the bone, the turbot cooks really, really nicely.
It gives it such soft flesh.
It'll be cooked and garnished tonight,
so the final dish to prep is dessert...
I don't know what pear choux bun is.
Do you? Yeah.
Oh, God, you're really embarrassing me, keep showing me up.
I went to college, I did go to college, I did go to college.
Yeah, we believe you.
Jess begins with yet more banging.
I never realised how much you need anger to be a chef,
how much banging you do. Hard work.
Angry people, you are.
I think you do more banging than I do, Jess.
THEY LAUGH
Yeah, let's just pipe out the choux bun mixture, shall we?
You want to go nice and tall so it can really rise,
so it doesn't look flat. Yeah.
Keep it nice and pointed upright, Jess. Right.
Lovely.
Kind of upright.
Yeah, perfect. We'll go, we'll go with that, Jess.
They're topped with the craquelin and left to bake.
That's one of the things that I know how
to do really well, so I'll be the first to say
if they haven't done it well.
Noted. Uh-oh.
I do have some extras, but I'm very tempted to give you that one.
It's so funny.
Chouxs out, the pears are left to poach
and will be served with the pastries tonight.
Everything's prepped and ready to go,
so all you've got to do tonight, Jess,
is follow my lead and we'll be onto a winner.
Yes, Chef!
Better get off to meet your guests.
I mean, it all sounds lovely, to be honest.
I mean, with Andy, I can tell instantly whether he likes something
or whether he doesn't, just by looking at him. He doesn't have
to say anything. Well? I mean, I like that.
Oh, that's ruined it.
First to arrive are Lorenzo and daughter Jade from Wildmoor Oak.
Ooh, oysters. Makes sense.
It does, doesn't it?
Hi, welcome to the Oyster Club.
There you go, glass of fizzy. Thank you, nice to meet you.
Jess, nice to meet you.
I'm Rosie. What's your name, sorry? Lorenzo.
Beautiful place, lovely, love all the mirrors, lovely, looks...
Oh, yeah, you like mirrors, don't you? I do. See myself.
THEY LAUGH
Oh, we were right, it was here.
Yeah, you're at the right place. Next it's Andy and Sam from 8.
Hiya. Hi, guys. I'm Andy, nice to meet you, OK?
Sam, nice to meet you. Hi, Jess. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, Sam. Jess, nice to meet you.
We'll get you something to nibble and get you a few oysters on the go.
I'll get them opened.
Bonus canape, anyone?
Has anyone not tried an oyster? I haven't.
Yeah, you're going to have to give it a go.
No, no, I don't... Argh.
You can do this. Go for it, yeah? Yeah, yeah.
Oh, OK.
Go on, Jade! You can do this.
Ooh, that's not a good face.
And swallow.
That was really, that was... That, that...
That was an experience. Don't worry, it's all out the way.
It's a little smoked eel and mackerel,
with a little bit of horseradish.
Spoke too soon.
Take a breath, Jade.
SHE EXHALES
Enjoying it? Bear with me.
Not sure that's a yes.
Coming up, aquatic aspirations...
I don't know, I'd probably choose a shark or a killer whale.
Yeah, not many things are going to eat you.
Andy is a character.
..and snoopy superiors.
We've got all the CCTV cameras. We'll get a phone call.
Yeah, yeah. "Why's he leaning?"
You know, I'll give you a minute or two.
But like seven minutes later, are you still leaning?
I'm not down for Big Brother eyes on people.
It's the first night of our professionals competition
in and around Birmingham...
ALL: Cheers!
..where Rosie and Jess from the Oyster Club are hoping
their seafood menu will make a splash in a bid for the cash.
Right, let's do it. Ouch.
Ooh, I felt that. Crab on!
Jess, you spilt a bit on the side of the plate there. Oh, sorry.
Do you want to win this or not? I want to win this,
yeah, very much, Rosie.
Once more with feeling, Jess.
On go tiny bits of salmon, avocado and chicken skin.
Right, I think we're good to go. Yeah, let's do the crab dab.
Do you have to?
Yes.
There it is, dressed white crab
with chicken skin, avocado
and sourdough croutons.
Here you go, dressed white crab. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
How are you finding it, Jade? Lovely. It's really nice, yeah.
Converted you?
It's nice. THEY LAUGH
I wouldn't say converted, but, no, it's nice.
Good clean flavours. Yeah. Fresh.
I'm not a fish fan, but do you know what, that starter,
it was really, really nice. It was good. It was really nice.
I really liked it.
I know that Andy's enjoying it because he's nearly finished it.
Not even speaking. You're quite quiet, aren't you? Makes a change.
LAUGHTER
I haven't got to the end yet.
When I find a bit of shell in it, I'll go, what is that?
My nails are all intact, you're all good. Game over.
It was nice, it was nice. It didn't blow me away, it was nice.
Nice.
If I got served it in a restaurant, I'd go, yeah, it's nice.
Yeah, I guessed that. Quite a large starter.
Yeah, it was large. Nice though, yeah?
Everyone seemed happy. Yeah, six clean plates. Yeah.
What more can we ask for? Yeah.
So, you guys are father and daughter, right, yeah?
Yes, yes, yes. She's the father, I'm the daughter.
How is it working with your dad?
LAUGHTER
Everybody, everybody asks that question.
How is it working with your daughter?
It's a journey, yeah.
I think... Do you get on really well?
I love her. THEY CHUCKLE
Good save.
I don't think I could work with my parents, to be honest.
I grew up on a farm, so I did do a lot of jobs and stuff with them.
You never got paid, though, did you? Not much.
LAUGHS
50p here and there.
Trying to make a point? No, no, I'm just having a conversation.
Right. Here we go.
I haven't really spoken much, I thought I'd just speak to her.
Oh, Lorenzo, definitely a character.
Yeah, I think he livened the table up without shouting anybody down.
Everyone's getting on really well at the moment, yeah.
Yeah, it's a very chatty group. Yeah. Very chatty group.
Better keep them fed, then. Rosie begins by searing the turbot.
Bit of a WEIGHT on these fish, isn't there? Good one. Thank you.
Very good. Once done, she adds...
Lots of butter, lots of butter.
You're not kidding.
The buttery turbot's left to cook, so Jess attends to the sauce.
So, make sure it doesn't get too hot. You don't want to split it.
Make sure you keep your eye on it. All right.
Sauce heated, in go cucumber, caviar and chives.
Then it's onto the fish, along with a sprinkling of sea vegetables.
Right, let's go. It's turbo time.
And there it is - roasted turbot with butter sauce,
smoked caviar and sea vegetables.
There you go, your turbot. Thank you very much.
Enjoy. Thank you.
So, guys, how are you finding it?
Lovely. Yeah? Yeah, really good.
How are you finding it, Jade? The fish is cooked beautifully.
It's really nice, yeah. It's really, really nice, yeah.
Are we converting you to fish?
Getting there, yeah.Getting there? THEY LAUGH
Baby steps, Jade, baby steps.
The only niggle I'd have is the sauce was split,
and I think because they'd used seaweed in so many elements,
it almost became a very samey, samey flavour.
The sauce on the turbot, yeah, perfect I'd say, yeah?
Yeah, we were happy. A little bit of smokiness,
and some of the pickled cucumber really cutting through there.
Yeah, it was really nice. Yeah, I was happy with it.
It needed some seasoning, yeah.
It was like it was laying down,
and I wanted it to sit up, if that makes sense.
Not really, no.
Hello, I'm here.
Oh, no, I do get it!
With the lazy turbot put to bed, Sam talks tech.
Our till system can be operated from anywhere in the world.
Do you know what he actually said to me the other day, really excited?
He went, I can access the till from home,
and then his wife went, oh, lucky me.
LAUGHTER
Well, I just access the cameras and I thought that was bad.
Yeah, yeah, we've got all the CCTV cameras.
We'll get a phone call. "Why is he leaning?"
I mean I'll give it, you know, a minute or two,
but like seven minutes later, are you still leaning? "Yeah."
I'd feel a little bit upset
that someone felt the need to check on... Check on us.
Check on me. Yeah.
I'm not down for Big Brothers eyes on people.
Got more important things to do than that.
Yeah, like checking the tills.
I hope we have done well with the starter and the main course,
so now I think this dessert really is a winner.
Crack on, then!
Rosie pops her poached pears onto piped praline cream,
whilst Jess takes care of the chocolate crumb.
They look like a little fancy burger, don't they?
If you really squint at it.
On goes the ice cream quenelle.
Perfect. Let's go. Let's go. Quickly, before it melts.
You get that one.
Et voila - a pear choux bun with bitter chocolate ice cream.
Thank you.
Right, enjoy. Thank you.
I think it's good. You've got your bitter, your sweet,
lots of different levels. It's well put together.
I love a good choux bun, I've made thousands of them,
and that is a good choux bun.
And I would've been completely honest with you,
because if it had been like a soggy one...
Yeah, he would've had a moan about that. I'd have been the first
to be like, oh, I'm not going for that.
The chocolate ice cream was very, very bitter,
so I'd rather have the dessert without the ice cream,
but I can see where they were going with it.
It was a good dessert. It wasn't a wow, dessert.
It was a good dessert. Better than "nice" at least.
A bit of fun after dessert,
what sea creature would you be, and why?
I think I'd be a starfish. Whitebait. Lay on the floor,
look up at the ocean, and just see everyone pass by.
I don't know, I'd probably choose something like a shark
or a killer whale. THEY LAUGH
Yeah, because you'd get to eat a lot of stuff, wouldn't you,
and not many things are going to eat you. That is true, that's good.
You don't want to be a lobster, do you? Lobsters taste good,
so everyone's going to want to bite you.
Andy is a character. He's, um, very relatable,
but, yeah, he is a character. He reminds me of my dad a lot.
I think as hosts we kind of struggled maybe to get
a lot of words in with them.
I was expecting maybe a few more questions about
the restaurant and things like that.
They seem to be the quieter pair out of the group, definitely.
Let's see if their scores are anything to shout about.
Marks out of 20, please.
The starter was really good, the mains were OK.
The hosts were quite quiet.
I think we heard more from Sam and Andy tonight,
so, I think that's why we're going to give them
a 13.
Enjoyed the food. Couple of minor tweaks,
didn't blow us away, so we're going to give it...
BOTH: ..14.
So, the Oyster Club have managed to hook a solid score of 27 out of 40.
It's day two of our professionals competition
and the turn of Wildmoor Oak dad and daughter team
Lorenzo and Jade.
I don't think we're going to leave there not being full.
I think it's going to be good portions,
bold flavours, almost like comfort food. Homely.
Yeah, I think we might get... Not too much spice.
I think we might get a bit of spice.
Yeah, it'll be spicy, I'm just not a spicy person.
I will die. THEY LAUGH
Let's hope not.
We're going to tear it up. Are we going to tear it up, Jade?
We're going to tear it up. Are we going to tear it up?
Tear it up, tear it up...
Tear it up!
Too much energy for the morning.
First to prep is the starter...
Has to fall off the bone for rib, definitely.
Yeah. I think, yeah,
it's got to be messy, get your hands involved.
Roast meat, that's definitely going to tick my box.
First meat box to be ticked are the ribs,
which have been marinating for 24 hours.
Everyone's proper, like, surprised by the size of it.
Yeah, I get that a lot, um,
with the ribs.
With the ribs, Jade! Gosh!
Jade!
Lorenzo carefully adds water and covers.
Just like to take this and hold it over your head, just to make sure
it's watertight. Ooh - I wouldn't.
No? Not today? No, OK.
They're left to cook, low and slow, while they tackle the chicken.
We use what I'd like to say is the best part of the wing.
This bit here, if it was a human, but it's not.
I'm glad to hear that. The wings are twice fried.
I think they'll be a sticky wing.
Do you think they'll be a sticky wing? Yeah, definitely.
I'm feeling it.
Later on, just before service, they'll get flashed again
through the fryer, and then I'll finish them off
with my sauce. You'll see the sauce. It's good.
Ooh, I can't wait.
Next is the main...
I feel like it's going to be different to any jerk chicken
I've had before. It's going to be very authentic.
Yeah, probably, yeah.
I usually have my kebab in a wrap from the kebab shop
and a bit of salad and stuff.
It'll be interesting to see how it comes.
I went to Jamaica
to hone my skills as regards to how I jerk.
They start with, er, leaves.
So, when I use the drum outside,
I'm going to put this inside the drum,
and this has all come directly from Jamaica.
Yeah, I've had it flown over.
The well-travelled foliage is bathed in Jamaican ale.
Is it making you all tingly? It is making me feel tingly.
Hopefully that's a good thing.
After a good soak, they're popped into the hot barbecue drum,
followed by the chicken. What's in your marinade?
Scotch bonnet, spring onion,
and that's all I'm prepared to share with you right now, yeah?
HE CHUCKLES
Spoilsport.
It's left to grill and will be finished off tonight.
Onto dessert...
Could be interesting. Yeah. Rum, Caribbean.
Oh, yeah, of course. We're going on the Caribbean theme maybe.
Well, I love rum and raisin, and I love cheesecake, so...
Dessert box ticked. Yeah.
First job, biscuits.
Going to follow my lead on this? I will indeed.
Always a pleasure, never a chore. You want to blend those for me,
please? I'm here for you. Sorry?
You want me to blend the biscuits? That'd be great. OK.
Switch it on at the wall, yeah? Switch it on at the wall, Chef,
OK, no problem. Thank you.
Biscuits blended...
Ooh, look at that.
..in goes melted butter and the base is patted down,
as Jade knocks up a sugary, cheesy, whippy cream.
Quick taste test.
Yeah, I said quick, Lorenzo.
Come on! It's not mouth wash.
Go, keep going. Thanks for that.
In go rum-soaked raisins.
That liquor looks good.
And it's all added to the moulds,
left to set, and will be dished up tonight,
so that's it.
Yeah, I mean, it's chalk and cheese from last night's menu, isn't it?
It's chalk and cheese.
First in to the sunshine of Bromsgrove are Rosie and Jess.
Come on!
Nice arm twirls.
Hey. Hi, guys, you all right, you OK?
Good to see you. How you doing?
Caribbean rum punch for you there. Here we go. Cheers, guys!
To life and love.
Very flamboyant cheers. Wasn't it?
Full movement. THEY LAUGH
Something our next guests seem to be lacking.
It's Andy and Sam.
Not even a little dance?
Come on, we're paying him by the hour. Hey, guys, you all right?
Hi, guys, you all right? Good to see you again. You too.
Good to see you. You all right?
You good, yeah?
Welcome to I Island,
not Bromsgrove.
ALL: Cheers.
Coming up, tear jerking...
I'll be honest, this is the first time I've ever tried jerk chicken.
Never tried it before in my life. Oh!
It's an honour, bordering on emotional.
..and lanky limbo.
I'm built for destruction, not for flexibility.
It's night two of our pros competition
in and around Birmingham... Cheers, everybody. Cheers.
..where Lorenzo and Jade of Wildmoor Oak are hoping their
Caribbean pub food will see them calypso off with the cash.
In the kitchen, it's time for the hosts to get going with the starter.
I don't know if we should take them some tissues out.
Some people get tearful when they're eating the food.
They get a little bit emotional, not like sad but happy.
Right...
The chicken wings are coated in butter,
as the ribs come out the oven.
Gorgeous!
Lovely flavours, all the colours,
it looks really, really amazing, doesn't it?
Just three courses to go, Jade.
They do look really good, to be honest.
Service, please!
And there it is - wings and ribs combo.
Thank you. Thank you.
Oh, wow.
It looks delicious. Thank you.
There's no nice ways to eat this, is there? No.
This is back to the beginning, you know, back to basics.
Yeah. I take it no-one leaves here hungry, no?
No. I'd be mortified if somebody left my restaurant
and still was hungry.
It's meant to whet your appetite for the main course,
not destroy your ability to eat the main course.
The flavour of those ribs are really delicious.
I don't think I needed any of the sweet corn or the salad.
Them ribs, for me, I'd just come back here again for them ribs.
I think the ribs went down really well.
I think everyone was really impressed with the flavours,
and they slid off the bone.
With the sizeable starter downed, Lorenzo talks heritage.
Yeah, so, the pub is very old, so it's got a lot of history.
The pub is haunted. We've had, like, experiences,
haven't we all, as staff? Yeah, I mean, sometimes
you know when you're after work and you're sat there having
a few drinks at the bar, and then the kitchen door goes...
WHISTLES Flirty ghost.
Like, who's in the kitchen? No-one. Oh, the window's open.
No. Is the extraction on?
No. So why has the door just opened like that?
Every member of staff has had some sort of weird story
to tell or some sort of weird experience here, so...
You can stay the night if you like and we'll see what happens.
I'm all right, thanks.
I think their taste buds have been opened up now,
and I think they're ready to receive the main event, yeah?
Yeah, go on, then, and the chicken's out the oven.
Careful!
This has been endorsed by the Hairy Bikers, my friend. Ooh!
It's the best jerk chicken in the country, mm.
And I've been trained in Jamaica.
Very impressive.
OK, good. I think this is a goer. Service, please.
Well, there it is, the best jerk chicken in the country -
in a kebab.
Thank you very much.
Wow.
Cor, stuff it in there!
It's not as spicy as I thought it'd be. Mm.
Yeah, I'm pleasantly surprised. Like, I'm not really a spicy person.
Yeah? I'll be honest, it's the first time I've ever tried jerk chicken.
Oh, brilliant. Oh, really? Never tried it before in my life. Ah!
It's an honour, and it's bordering on emotional.
I feel great that I had the opportunity to do that for him,
because that's a gift. It's just a kebab, Lorenzo.
I'm a kebab connoisseur. I think it's probably the best chicken kebab
I've had in a long time. Thank you.
That is the star of the show, the chicken, the spices on there.
You can't beat my dad's chicken.
That's it.
You got that, everyone?
When I was in Jamaica, they'd serve little pots
of blended Scotch bonnet, which we serve here,
and if you fancy trying it, I'll bring a little tub out
just so you can try what it's like.
I don't think they've got a choice.
Hello. What could possibly go wrong?
Are you all right?! Go on, go on.
Oh, that's a brave amount!
Oh, good luck.
You swallowed it whole, your throat.
LAUGHTER
Say something, Sam.
Nose burns?
Ooh, that's coming after. Is it?
It's not the instant kick, it's the after kick on it.
I'm one of them people, I know, you know, when to have
a little bit, and when not to be a plonker. What you trying to say?
Well, it's time to heat things up even more now.
Limbo competition, anyone?
LORENZO LAUGHS
OK. So, the rules are your head is the last thing
that should go under the bar.
Show them how it's done then, Jade.
Oh, that was quick.
Simple as that, yeah?
And that's not how it's done.
Yay!
I feel like it really brought everyone out of their shell.
Everyone seemed really happy and confident,
everyone was shouting loud.
No chance.
I'm not exactly the smallest in the world.
LAUGHTER
I'm built for destruction, not for flexibility.
Go on!
OK, OK, OK, OK.
Go on, son, you've got this.
Well done, Jess. Thank you.
This will be hung up proudly in the restaurant.
It's the only medal she's going to win this week. There is that.
Meee-ow!
Fair play.
Oh!
Just one course left.
I have a great feeling about this.
Liking that confidence.
SHE GASPS
Jesus!
Oh, that was short-lived. One final flourish.
OK, toodle-pip, we're off to do desserts, yeah?
So we're going to eat and, you know, we're going to have the sweet.
Toodle-pip indeed!
There it is - rum and raisin cheesecake.
There you go. Thank you.
All compliments to Jade, because this is her baby.
You could've waited to see if they liked it before you said that.
LAUGHTER
Flavour, really, really tasty.
For me,
it could probably set a little bit. Yeah.
More, like, cheesecakey. Yeah.
A lot of rum in it, I'd say. It's a lot of rum-rum,
and then a bit of raisin almost, yeah. Nice, though.
I don't think you need any of the sort of extras like
the rice paper.
I don't even think you need raspberry with it.
But it's really tasty, really tasty.
The texture needed to set a little bit longer,
but other than that, I'm happy.
So, have you served anyone else famous other than the Hairy Bikers?
Chef Marco. Oh, legend!
Daley Thompson, Kris Akabusi.
What do I always say when you say someone's come in?
I don't give a... Yeah. I genuinely don't care.
Pictures of, what's her name, Rusty Lee...
Yeah, Andy doesn't care, Lorenzo.
..Astro from UB40.
He's still not caring.
The night went really well, no two ways about it.
So far, I will say I think it was the best night.
Let's see what your guests made of it, then.
Lorenzo and Jade were great hosts tonight.
We had a great time. It was a lot of fun.
There was just a little bit too much food,
and it just lacked a little bit of finesse.
So, for that reason, we're scoring them a 13.
The food for me tonight wasn't as refined as last night.
Overall experience, though,
amazing, couldn't fault it. So score-wise...
We're scoring it 14.
So, Wildmoor Oak join the Oyster Club at the top
with a score of 27.
It's the final day of our competition,
and the turn of head chef Andy and co-owner Sam to wow
the guests at their restaurant, 8.
Well, as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to food,
I don't think anybody's really competition at the minute for us.
The lads have talked a good game this week,
so I'm expecting big things tonight.
Andy was talking about, you know, just having one element on
the plate that was really good. I'm just hoping, you know,
we're going to have enough food tonight to sort of fill us up,
like... Yeah, won't need a burger afterwards.
So tonight, it's a creative dining experience.
I think it's something that none of the guests
is going to have seen before. Usually we're doing 12 courses,
today we're only doing three.
Let's not get any ideas about changing it to three.
First on the heavily-reduced three-course tasting menu
is the starter...
I was not expecting that. Like from the chip shop.
Andy begins by salting cod.
And the lemon is just going to penetrate the fish a bit,
so you get a little bit of that nice lemony, floral flavour.
Lemon on, after half an hour, it's all washed off. Oh.
OK, Sam, can you grab us a board and some clingfilm, mate?
Yeah, give him something to do.
Andy makes a cod sausage
and it's left for tonight, so he cracks on with
the curry sauce, chopping and sauteing celery and garlic.
Do not get it twisted, yeah?
There's more to that story than meets the eye.
You're on the money, as in goes champers.
I use it instead of usually traditionally wine,
if making a fish white wine sauce or anything like that.
Finally, he adds curry leaves, home-made madras paste,
stock and cream.
How's it tasting, then?
Yeah, delicious.
I expected nothing less. Onto the main...
Ker-ching!
Waygu beef, wow. Got to be cooked right.
He is pulling out all the stops with that, isn't he? Yeah.
It's go big or go home, yeah?
It's not like a beef texture, is it?
It dissolves, it's almost like putting an ice cube in your mouth
and thinking, where's it going? Worth the money, then.
Luxurious and expensive, it's Wagyu beef, oyster and truffle.
Which lends itself to, it's going to be a little bit of it.
So they're going to get, I don't know, probably four or five slices
out of each one. Oh.
Don't need any more than that. It's going to be too rich, you know,
and if somebody does ask for more...
They'll have to pay twice. Yeah.
Ever the businessman.
The perfectly-portioned slabs will be cooked tonight,
so Andy uses yet more expensive meat to make a very expensive gravy.
I've got some pink peppercorns,
little bit of thyme, bay leaves,
bonito flakes, little bit of garlic.
A quick fry before it's deglazed.
You got some red wine, mate? Yeah.
Well done, Sam. In goes truffle honey, naturally,
and a generous helping of stock.
Leave that to reduce now, that's it.
So, last to prep is dessert...
I wouldn't be surprised if there was,
everybody had little volcanoes,
individual volcanoes with blood orange shooting out
the top as the lava,
and the chocolate is the base of the volcano. I don't know.
Not long left, Jade.
Andy pours runny chocolate into a fancy-looking gadget.
Pop that in the fridge now, and then tonight we'll charge it up
with two N2O chargers,
and that's going to turn it into an aerated mousse.
Nice. What else you got, then?
I've got this delicious milk sponge here,
and then in this little piping bag
I've got a blood orange gel,
blood orange sorbet,
and then over here we've got some little bits
of dehydrated blood orange.
Well, as it's all prepared,
you might as well go and put your feet up, lads.
I think if we said we didn't like it, he'd say we were wrong.
Yeah, which is caring.
No, it's not.
First in, it's Rosie and Jess.
Hello. Nice to see you. How you doing? You all right?
Good to see you.
Good to see you. Good to see you. Excellent, just come through.
Where's Andy? He's in the kitchen just finishing off the last bits.
He should be through in a second.
In the meantime, we're going to rustle up some drinks.
Any moment now, ladies.
Oh, thank goodness for that.
Cheers. Thank you.
Lastly, it's Lorenzo and Jade.
Hi, guys. Hello. Nice to see you all.
Nice of you to join us, Andy.
Welcome to the cocktail lounge. Is everyone hungry?
Yeah, very. Yeah, I just had a packet of crisps this morning,
that's it, really.
So no pressure on our portion size tonight, then.
Make the portions bigger, boys. LAUGHTER
That's all I've had.
You might need more beef.
Coming up, a flavour fall-out.
I'm just searching for a little bit more acidity.
No, I don't agree with the girls, what they said,
but that's their personal opinion, isn't it?
And the winners are revealed.
ALL: Ooooh!
It's the final night of our Birmingham pros cook-off.
ALL: Cheers.
And the turn of head chef Andy and co-owner Sam
to dish up some fanciful food from their restaurant, 8,
in a bid for the £1,000 prize.
I'm confident that we're going to give them an amazing experience.
That's what we set out to do with every guest,
so they're no different in that fact.
Yeah, you're not that special, guys.
Whilst the guests experience the dining room cum kitchen
cum dining room, Andy cracks on with his cod.
It took me a while to get used to cooking with people.
I'd spent so long in the kitchen, you know, being locked away,
so you can imagine when I opened this space, I remember
the first night in it, I was like that. I was a bag of nerves.
Hands like stone tonight, though, eh?
With the fish cooked, it's topped with herring roe - and boom!
Cod and curry sauce with Japanese milk bread.
Thank you.
Here is your first course for this evening.
So, a little interesting fact, all the dishes that are on 8's menu
have got a significant meaning to the number 8. So, if we all turn
to the page now where it's called oxidised,
the chemical number for oxygen is 8.
Now, everybody knows that when wine and oxygen react,
it creates a process called oxidisation.
I don't think Rosie knew that.
Chemistry probably wasn't my strongest subject, but...
There we go, we learn something new every day.
I wonder if it was Andy's.
Now, we sell a lot of wines by the glass,
so instead of throwing them wines or champagnes away,
we decided to create this dish so we could use up
all the left-over wine.
Mm, the dregs!
So, how's everyone finding it, guys?
It is really nice. The curry sauce is beautiful. Yeah?
Yeah. The bread's really, really nice.
The starter was really, really nice, other than the herring roe.
I tried it. That's the first thing I ate.
I did give it a go out of respect for Andy, but,
I don't like smoked things and fish eggs are not for me.
Yeah, I wasn't disappointed. It was beautiful,
well-presented, balanced, the flavours were great.
And you, guys? Yeah, I'm really enjoying it.
For me, probably I'm just searching for
a little bit more acidity in the dish.
I find it's quite rich, that's all.
It's, you know, the cod's cooked perfectly. I just...
We do finish it with lemon juice on the top as we're finishing it.
Um... But you've got to have a balance, haven't you? Yeah, yeah.
I think you get the acidity from the wine when you drink the wine.
Unfortunately, you haven't got the wine.
I probably should've taken a leaf out of their book
and added more lime juice like their split salad the other night
when we had the crab, and it probably would've worked a little bit better.
Something's curdled.
What is this, brioche? No, no, no, Japanese milk bread.
Right. Close.
It's a little bit sweet, in my opinion. Like, I don't know.
I'm not a fan of the bread, to be honest with you.
I think it's really nice, I like the bread.
Yeah. JADE: Really nice. That's not gone down well.
I don't agree with the girls, what they said, but that's
their personal opinion, isn't it? They can have their opinion,
just like I did about their overcooked turbot the other night.
Ooh-oh.
I think he took it very personally. Yeah, I think it just lacked a bit,
maybe a bit of texture as well. It was just all very...
Yeah, maybe a crunch. Yeah. Yeah, true.
Yeah. I'd move on.
Nothing to watch out for the main,
I'm really confident on this one, absolutely delicious.
Well, crack on, then!
This is an A5 Wagyu beef.
So, this was £79 a kilo.
How much?!
It melts like butter in your mouth,
and anyone that says that it doesn't,
hasn't got a clue what they're talking about. Understood.
This is pickled onions. Acidity.
They'll love this one. Subtle.
He paints on honey truffle before slicing, saucing,
and, er, truffling.
Right, ready to rock. Let's go, guys.
And bingo, four slithers of Wagyu beef with oyster and truffle.
OK, guys. Thank you.
Please dig in, guys.
How have you found it? Yeah, I think you literally can't go wrong.
It's, like, literally delicious.
I just wish I had probably like three times the amount.
Well, we've still got a couple of courses to go yet.
Yeah, the sauce is beautiful. It's really, really well done.
All of the flavours go together, so it's really, really nice.
Thank you very much, guys. As soon as I started to eat it,
my biggest concern was when it was going to finish.
I knew it was going to happen soon. It's happened now.
Now I don't know what to do with myself.
I'm not going to lie, I'm still hungry,
really bad, to the point that we can't do this much longer.
I need to go and eat something. Yeah?
He was actually searching for peanuts at one point.
I was going to... He said, ask for some bar snacks, some peanuts.
Go on, I dare you.
So, talking about sort of presentation,
obviously, you know, we've got a few dapper people here.
Like, does anybody have anything they, kind of,
would anyone get any work done or maybe, you know,
you've had those teeth whitened up a little bit?
Er... That's a no.
They're actually natural teeth. Are they?
I was actually born blessed. I actually brush them.
LAUGHTER
So, for me, girls, well done.
I'll teach you about dental hygiene after the meal,
and hopefully you'll have as clean a teeth as I have.
It was only a bit of fun. He took it very personally.
The only concern with your dental hygiene is when you go to
the restaurant toilet with the electric toothbrush,
and all you can hear is this buzzing sound coming from
a toilet cubicle.
Well, it's not the only thing he likes to keep clean,
as he's got a DIY palate cleanser.
Look at the smoke.
So, in front of you now you've got a mortar.
In the bottom of that mortar, you've got some fresh lemon balm.
In here we've got some liquid nitrogen.
Ooooh!
Yeah, you get all the tricks at these fancy-prancy places,
don't you?
I liked it!
Yeah, I think the palate cleanser's definitely a little bit of theatre.
I think they loved all getting interactive.
Some people think, oh, you know, is it style over substance? It's not.
You know, the actual flavour combinations in there are epic.
So, your next layer, this is your vanilla ice cream,
so a little bit like a rhubarb and custard.
How is it, guys? Palates cleansed?
I can't taste anything any more, not at all.
He's shutting down. Quick, get desserts out, lads!
Chocolate mousse.
Thanks, Andy.
It's piped into bite-sized bowls with
a sprinkle of dehydrated blood orange.
It's got everything on it, hasn't it? Acidity, crunch, texture.
He tops it off with a blood orange tuile,
and there it is - chocolate and blood orange.
Thank you. OK, guys. Here is your dessert. OK, dig in, guys.
Savour it, Lorenzo.
So, guys, are you enjoying the dessert? Really nice, yeah.
It is, yeah.
THEY LAUGH OK, good.
HE SMACKS HIS LIPS It's making me do that.
JADE: And can I just say, he's not a dessert person,
and that's empty, so that's a good sign.
Wow, that is a good sign.
Involuntary. My lips were doing their own thing,
almost like when I have tequila.
He doesn't drink tequila.
So, guys, if you could hire anyone around this table,
who would you hire and why?
Nothing against my other contestants here,
but I'd actually hire Sam to work in the kitchen with me,
right? Because I think his wife
would really appreciate it
if he cooked a little bit more food at home.
LAUGHTER
I think I would hire Rosie.
We're a few decent chefs down at the moment.
LAUGHTER
He did not find that funny!
I've got to get my own back!
I think it's been an experience.
I think it's been a completely different experience
than any of the others for them.
I just hope that they feel the same way.
8 need 28 or more to win the grand.
The concept of the restaurant tonight was really interesting.
The quality of the food was really nice,
but the portions of the food were just a bit too small
for a three-course meal. And that's why we're scoring them
a 14.
I think the experience was unique. The hosts did a good job.
I think the only thing missing was the portion sizes.
They were quite small, and there wasn't really any entertainment.
So, I think that's why we're scoring Sam and Andy...
Hold your horses!
We'll let the hosts reveal the results.
ALL: Ooh!
Controversial moment. We have a joint second.
Wildmoor Oak... Ooh!
..and...
..the Oyster Club, Rosie and Jess.
Ah!
Which means, in first place,
we have 8, Sam and Andy.
Lorenzo and Jade scored 15, meaning 8 win by two points.
Well done, mate.
I'll be honest, I'm glad that we've won.
I think we've worked our arse off to get the restaurant the way
that it is, and I'm just glad that the guys appreciated it too.
Ooooh....!
LAUGHTER
ALL: Cheers! Cheers, guys.
All right, I mean, joint second, it's not last, technically.
I think it is last, but never mind.
THEY LAUGH
THEY CHEER
THEY LAUGH
They delivered, do you know what I mean, more than expected,
the restaurant, the venue, their hospitality.
They deserve the win. I just want them to give me the money
for my takeaway that I've just eaten. I thought you'd perked up!
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